fertilise

Everyday

1. To fertilise soil is to add manure, compost or chemicals so that plants grow better. tree →
2. In living things, to fertilise an egg is when a male cell (sperm or pollen) joins a female egg cell so a new animal or plant can start to grow. tree →
3. (formal, rare) To make something richer or more productive, like ideas. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons it comes in plant life cycles (bees carry pollen that fertilises flowers) and animal reproduction (frogs' eggs are fertilised in water). In gardening and farming it means feeding the soil. Phrases: fertilise the lawn, fertilised egg, be fertilised by pollen. It tells the reader a new life is starting or that plants will be helped to grow.

Examples

• Dad fertilises the vegetable patch with compost every spring. tree →
• Bees help to fertilise apple blossom by carrying pollen. tree →
• A hen's egg from the shop is usually not fertilised, so no chick will hatch. tree →
• Farmers fertilise their fields before planting wheat. tree →
• In our science book, the fish eggs were fertilised in the river. tree →
• Don't fertilise the tomatoes too much or the leaves will burn. tree →
• Once the flower is fertilised, it starts to grow a fruit. tree →

Note

UK, Australia, NZ and Ireland spell it fertilise; the USA and usually Canada spell it fertilize. The noun is fertiliser (plant food) and fertilisation (the joining of cells). Past form fertilised. Fertiliser chemicals can be poisonous: wash your hands and never eat them.