fertilization

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From French fertilisation; equivalent to fertilize +‎ -ation.

Pronunciation

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Noun

fertilization (countable and uncountable, plural fertilizations)

  1. The act or process of rendering fertile.
  2. The act of fecundating or impregnating the gametes of animals, plants, etc.; including the process by which in flowers the pollen renders the ovule fertile, an analogous process in flowerless plants, or the joining of sperm and egg in animals.
    • 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
      In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.
  3. The act of applying fertilizer to soil.

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