noun
- Chemistry. a salt or ester of nitric acid, or any compound containing the univalent group –ONO2 or NO3.
- fertilizer consisting of potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate.
- cellulose nitrate, a substance used as a film base in the early days of filmmaking.
- Informal. nitrate film.
verb (used with object), ni·trat·ed, ni·trat·ing.
- to treat with nitric acid or a nitrate.
- to convert into a nitrate.
noun
- any salt or ester of nitric acid, such as sodium nitrate, NaNO 3
- a fertilizer consisting of or containing nitrate salts
verb
- (tr) to treat with nitric acid or a nitrate
- to convert or be converted into a nitrate
- to undergo or cause to undergo the chemical process in which a nitro group is introduced into a molecule
n.1794, from French nitrate (1787) or formed in English from nitre + -ate (3). Related: Nitrates. n.
- The univalent radical NO3.
- A compound containing such a radical, such as a salt or ester of nitric acid.
v.
- To treat with nitric acid or a nitrate, usually to change an organic compound into a nitrate.
- A salt or ester of nitric acid, containing the group NO3. Nitrates dissolve extremely easily in water and are an important component of the nitrogen cycle. Compare nitrite.