Meaning & use
hydroponics
Last updated
UK/ˌhaɪdrəˈpɒnɪks/
US/ˌhaɪdrəˈpɑːnɪks/
Meaning
noununcountabletechnical
A way of growing plants in water that contains nutrients, without using soil.
Grammar: Uncountable; it takes a singular verb: 'Hydroponics is popular.'
Patterns
- grow plants using hydroponics
- hydroponics system
Hydroponics allows farmers to grow vegetables in city warehouses.
She uses hydroponics to grow lettuce all year round.
Hydroponics requires careful control of nutrients and light.
Common combinations
- hydroponics system
- They installed a hydroponics system on the roof.
- hydroponics farm
- The hydroponics farm produces fresh herbs for local restaurants.
- use hydroponics
- Many growers use hydroponics to save water.
- hydroponics garden
- Her hydroponics garden thrives without any soil.
Synonyms and how they differ
- soil-less culture
- A broader term for growing plants without soil; hydroponics is the specific method using nutrient water.
- aquaculture
- Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic animals or plants; hydroponics is only for land plants in water.
Opposites
soil-based farming
Word family
- hydroponic adjective
- Relating to growing plants in water without soil.
- hydroponically adverb
- In a way that uses hydroponics.
Commonly confused: hydroponics or aquaponics?
hydroponics vs aquaponics
Aquaponics combines hydroponics with fish farming, using fish waste to feed the plants.
Practice
What is hydroponics?
Choose one answer.
Hydroponics is growing plants in water with nutrients, not soil. The other options describe unrelated processes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hydroponics”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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