fertilize
gb/fˈɚtɪlˌaɪz/ us/fˈɚtɪlˌaɪz/
B2
English
Senses
0 senses
Verb
B2
action
1
Add nutrients for growth
to put special nutrients in soil or on plants to help them grow
Usage pattern:
fertilize [soil/a lawn/a field/plants/crops] (with [compost/fertilizer])
Common mistake:
Do not use fertilize to mean water a plant. British English often spells the word fertilise.
Synonyms
feed (common in gardening; means give plants nutrients)
|
enrich (emphasizes making soil richer or better)
|
manure (means fertilize using animal manure)
Antonyms
deplete (means remove nutrients from soil rather than add them)
|
exhaust (used when land has been made poor by overuse)
Collocations
fertilize the soil
|fertilize a lawn
|fertilize crops
|fertilize plants
|fertilize a field
|fertilize a garden
|fertilize with compost
|fertilize regularly
|organically fertilize
|over-fertilize plants
Themes
gardening
|agriculture
|plants
|environment
Examples
- Fertilize the lawn in early spring and water it well afterward.
- Farmers often fertilize their fields before planting corn.
- You can fertilize houseplants with a weak liquid feed once a month.
Learner examples
- We fertilize the garden every spring.
- Do not fertilize the plant too often.
Verb
technical
B2
process
2
Make an egg develop
when sperm or pollen joins with an egg so a baby, embryo, or seed can start to grow
Usage pattern:
[sperm/pollen] fertilizes [an egg/an ovule]; fertilize [eggs] in a lab
Common mistake:
In modern English, people usually say an egg is fertilized, not that a woman is fertilized.
Synonyms
inseminate (means introduce semen; it does not always mean fertilization occurs)
|
impregnate (often means make pregnant, especially an animal or person)
|
pollinate (for plants; means transfer pollen, which may lead to fertilization)
Antonyms
sterilize (means make unable to reproduce rather than cause reproduction)
|
prevent (used in the phrase prevent fertilization)
Collocations
fertilize an egg
|fertilize the ovule
|sperm fertilizes an egg
|pollen fertilizes a flower
|fertilize eggs in a lab
|externally fertilize eggs
|fertilized egg
|successfully fertilize
|fertilize in vitro
Themes
biology
|reproduction
|medicine
|plants
Examples
- Only one sperm normally fertilizes the egg.
- In the clinic, several eggs were fertilized outside the body.
- Pollen from one plant can fertilize the ovules of another plant.
Learner examples
- A sperm cell fertilizes an egg.
- The egg was fertilized in a lab.
Verb
formal
C2
action
3
Stimulate ideas or creativity
to help ideas or creativity grow by giving them new energy or influences
Usage pattern:
fertilize [the imagination/ideas/debate/culture]
Common mistake:
This figurative use is formal; in everyday speech, stimulate, inspire, or encourage is often more natural.
Synonyms
stimulate (more common and neutral)
|
inspire (emphasizes giving creative energy)
|
enrich (emphasizes adding valuable influences)
Antonyms
stifle (means stop ideas or creativity from developing)
|
impoverish (means make something poorer or less rich)
Collocations
fertilize the imagination
|fertilize ideas
|fertilize debate
|fertilize creativity
|fertilize cultural life
|fertilize new thinking
Themes
ideas
|creativity
|culture
|education
Examples
- Travel and wide reading fertilized her imagination.
- The city’s mix of languages and traditions fertilized its music scene.
- The debate was fertilized by new research from several fields.
Learner examples
- Books fertilized his imagination.
Grammar
Dictionary form
fertilize
IPA
GB/fˈɚtɪlˌaɪz/
US/fˈɚtɪlˌaɪz/
Syllables & stress
fer - til - ize (3 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (fer)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: fertilize
- 3rd Person Singular: fertilizes
- Present Participle: fertilizing
- Past: fertilized
Expressions
cross-fertilize
1/kɹˈɔs fˈɚtɪlˌaɪz/
fixed phrase
Share ideas across fields
to let different people or areas share ideas so they help each other improve
Examples
- The conference was designed to cross-fertilize ideas between engineers and artists.
- Moving staff between departments helps cross-fertilize skills and experience.
- Universities can cross-fertilize research by encouraging work across disciplines.
fertilized egg
1/fˈɚtɪlˌaɪzd ˈɛɡ/
fixed phrase
technical
Egg after sperm joins
an egg cell after sperm has joined with it
Examples
- A fertilized egg begins to divide into more cells.
- In many animals, the fertilized egg develops inside the mother’s body.
- The test showed whether the eggs had become fertilized eggs.
in vitro fertilization
1/ˈɪn vˈitɹoʊ fˌɚtɪlɪzˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
technical
Lab-based egg fertilization
a medical treatment where an egg is fertilized in a lab to help someone become pregnant
Examples
- After years of infertility, the couple decided to try in vitro fertilization.
- In vitro fertilization is often shortened to IVF.
- The clinic fertilized the eggs during an in vitro fertilization procedure.