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NITRIFICATION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The oxidation of ammonium compounds in dead organic material into nitrates and nitrites by soil bacteria (making nitrogen available to plants)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("nitrification" is a kind of...):
oxidation; oxidisation; oxidization (the process of oxidizing; the addition of oxygen to a compound with a loss of electrons; always occurs accompanied by reduction)
Domain category:
flora; plant; plant life ((botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion)
Derivation:
nitrify (treat (soil) with nitrates)
nitrify (convert into nitric acid, nitrous acid, or nitrate, especially with the action of nitrobacteria)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The chemical process in which a nitro group is added to an organic compound (or substituted for another group in an organic compound)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("nitrification" is a kind of...):
chemical action; chemical change; chemical process ((chemistry) any process determined by the atomic and molecular composition and structure of the substances involved)
Derivation:
nitrify (treat with nitrogen or a nitrogen compound)
