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fertilization

 [fur-tl-uh-zey-shuhn]   Example Sentences Origin

fer·ti·li·za·tion

   [fur-tl-uh-zey-shuhn]
noun
1.
an act, process, or instance of fertilizing.
2.
the state of being fertilized.
3.
Biology.
a.
the union of male and female gametic nuclei.
b.
fecundation or impregnation of animals or plants.
4.
the enrichment of soil, as for the production of crops.
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Origin:
1855–60; fertilize + -ation

Related forms
fer·ti·li·za·tion·al, adjective
o·ver·fer·ti·li·za·tion, noun
pre·fer·ti·li·za·tion, noun
re·fer·ti·li·za·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Fertilization

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Fertilization is always a great word to know.
So is type species. Does it mean:
a plant, animal, or other organism bearing an evolutionary relationship to another, often as a member of the same family
the species of a genus that is regarded as the best example of the generic characters of the genus, from which a genus was originally named
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Example Sentences
  • Once implemented on an industrial scale, ammonia synthesis enabled the widespread fertilization of croplands for decades hence.
  • There are weather factors, fertilization factors, etc to take into account.
  • Doctors do not know exactly why it works, but believe the hormones either delay ovulation or block the fertilization of an egg.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
fertilization or fertilisation (ˌfɜːtɪlaɪˈzeɪʃən)
 
—n
1.  the union of male and female gametes, during sexual reproduction, to form a zygote
2.  the act or process of fertilizing
3.  the state of being fertilized
 
fertilisation or fertilisation
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fertilization
1857, noun of action from fertilize.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

fertilization fer·til·i·za·tion (fûr'tl-ĭ-zā'shən)
n.
The union of male and female gametes to form a zygote, a process that begins with the penetration of the secondary oocyte by the spermatozoon and is completed with the fusion of the male and female pronuclei.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
fertilization   (fûr'tl-ĭ-zā'shən)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. 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.

  2. The process of making soil more productive of plant growth, as by the addition of organic material or fertilizer.


fertilize verb
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

fertilization definition


The joining of sex cells to form a new living thing. In humans, a male sperm joins a female ovum, or egg; the resulting zygote divides into a multicelled structure that implants in the womb and grows into an embryo. In plants, pollen grains, containing the male sex cells, enter the female sex cells in the pistil; from this union, fruit eventually grows. When fertilization occurs within a single flower, we call it self-fertilization. (See cross-fertilization.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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