fertilize

/ˈfɜːtəlaɪz/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfɜːrtəlaɪz/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfər-tə-ˌlīz/ (ame, mw)

fertilize — verb

  • fertilizepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • fertilizeshe / she / it
  • fertilizedpast simple
  • fertilizing-ing form

1. to put nutrient-rich material such as compost or chemical fertilizer into the gr

1.動詞及物B1
釋義

to put nutrient-rich material such as compost or chemical fertilizer into the ground, helping plants grow larger and produce more

例句

Aoi fertilizes her vegetable garden every spring before planting tomatoes.

collocation: fertilize garden before planting

The farmers fertilized the rice fields with cow manure for a better harvest.

collocation: fertilize fields with manure

同義詞
  • feed

    less technical, used for both plants and animals (feed the plants with liquid fertilizer)

  • enrich

    more general; often used for soil specifically (enrich the soil with organic matter)

  • nourish

    more formal, implies ongoing care through nutrients (nourish the garden throughout the season)

反義詞
  • deplete

    remove or use up the nutrients in soil (years of farming depleted the soil)

  • exhaust

    use up all the nutrients so the soil is no longer productive (exhaust the soil by over-cropping)

文法句型

fertilize + noun (soil / land / plants / fields / garden)

用法筆記

The object is usually the soil, land, or field rather than the plant itself. You fertilize the soil so that the plants growing in it get the nutrients they need.

常見錯誤

❌I fertilized the flowers with water.
✅I fertilized the garden with compost.
💡Fertilizing means adding nutrients or plant food, not just water.

2. to cause a male reproductive cell (sperm or pollen) to join with a female egg or

2.動詞及物B2
釋義

to cause a male reproductive cell (sperm or pollen) to join with a female egg or ovule, so that a new living thing begins to form

例句

A male bee fertilizes the queen bee's eggs during the mating flight.

collocation: fertilize eggs (animals)

The flower's pollen fertilized the ovules, and seeds began to grow.

同義詞
  • impregnate

    more formal, mainly used for mammals including humans; has a stronger physical connotation

  • pollinate

    for plants only; refers to pollen landing on the stigma, not necessarily the joining of cells inside the ovule

反義詞
  • sterilize

    make an organism unable to reproduce (the radiation sterilized the insects)

文法句型

fertilize + noun (egg / ovule / seed)

be fertilized by + noun (sperm / pollen)

用法筆記

The subject is usually a male reproductive cell (sperm, pollen) or a male organism. This sense is more formal and technical than sense 1 and appears often in science writing. Passive constructions (the egg was fertilized) are very common.

常見錯誤

❌The doctor fertilized the patient in the hospital.
✅The sperm fertilized the egg in a laboratory procedure.
💡'Fertilize' describes the biological joining of cells, not a medical action performed by a doctor on a person.