noun
- The act or process of initiating biological reproduction by insemination or pollination.
- The union of male and female gametes to form a zygote.
- The act or process of applying a fertilizer.
Related Forms:
- fer′til·i·za′tion·al
adjective
fertilization
fer·til·i·za·tionTHE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"fertilization." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilization>.
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fertilization. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilization
- The process by which two gametes (reproductive cells having a single, haploid set of chromosomes) fuse to become a zygote, which develops into a new organism. The resultant zygote is diploid (it has two sets of chromosomes). In cross-fertilization, the two gametes come from two different individual organisms. In self-fertilization, the gametes come from the same individual. Fertilization includes the union of the cytoplasm of the gametes (called plasmogamy) followed by the union of the nuclei of the two gametes (called karyogamy). Among many animals, such as mammals, fertilization occurs inside the body of the female. Among fish, eggs are fertilized in the water. Among plants, fertilization of eggs occurs within the reproductive structures of the parent plant, such as the ovules of gymnosperms and angiosperms.
See Note at pollination
- The process of making soil more productive of plant growth, as by the addition of organic material or fertilizer.
Related Forms:
- fertilize
verb
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"fertilization." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilization>.
APA Style
fertilization. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilization
Noun
(plural fertilizations)
- The act or process of rendering fertile.
- The act of fecundating or impregnating animal or vegetable gametes; especially, the process by which in flowers the pollen renders the ovule fertile, or an analogous process in flowerless plants; fecundation; impregnation.
Origin
From French fertilisation
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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MLA Style
"fertilization." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilization>.
APA Style
fertilization. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilization
fertilization - Medical Definition
n.
- The act or process of initiating biological reproduction by insemination or pollination.
- The union of male and female gametes to form a zygote.
- The act or process of applying a fertilizer.
Related Forms:
- fer′til·i·za′tion·al
adj.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Medicine © 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"fertilization." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilization>.
APA Style
fertilization. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilization
