fertilize

fer·til·ize

transitive verb

-·ized·, -·iz·ing

to make fertile; make fruitful or productive; enrich: nitrates fertilize soil
to spread fertilizer on
Biol. to make (the female reproductive cell or female individual) fruitful by pollinating, or impregnating, with the male gamete

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MLA Style

"fertilize." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilize>.

APA Style

fertilize. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilize

fertilize

verb

fer·til·ized, fer·til·iz·ing, fer·til·iz·es

verb

transitive

To cause the fertilization of (an ovum, for example).
To make (soil, for example) fertile: Compost fertilizes the soil.
To spread fertilizer on: used a mechanical spreader to fertilize the lawn.

verb

intransitive

To spread fertilizer.

Related Forms:

fer′til·iz′a·ble
adjective

THE 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.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"fertilize." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilize>.

APA Style

fertilize. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/fertilize

Verb

(third-person singular simple present fertilizes, present participle fertilizing, simple past and past participle fertilized)

To make (the soil) more fertile by adding nutrients to it.
(figuratively) To make more creative or intellectually productive.
to fertilize one's imagination
To cause to produce offspring through insemination; to inseminate.