plural nitrates
1
: a salt or ester of nitric acid
2
: sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate used as a fertilizer
3
: any of several nitric-acid esters of cellulose : nitrocellulose
especially
: a product (such as celluloid film) made from cellulose nitrate
In the case of the Clark Gable Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), the nitrate original was destroyed before anyone noticed the transferred soundtrack was out of sync. —
Roy Hemming
Roy Hemming Examples of nitrate in a Sentence
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Your Risk for Heart Disease and Stroke Decreases Foods rich in dietary nitrates, like beets, help increase blood flow by widening and relaxing blood vessels.
—Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 4 Nov. 2025
Spinach contains nitrates, compounds that support healthy blood pressure.
—Merve Ceylan, Health, 4 Nov. 2025
To counter this, the team used a ternary molten salt made of lithium hydroxide, lithium nitrate, and lithium salicylate.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2025
The product was developed by scientists at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences—by some of the same scientists who did pioneering research into the endurance-boosting abilities of the nitrates found in foods such as beets.
—Alex Hutchinson, Outside, 29 Oct. 2025
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Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 4 Nov. 2025
Spinach contains nitrates, compounds that support healthy blood pressure.
—Merve Ceylan, Health, 4 Nov. 2025
To counter this, the team used a ternary molten salt made of lithium hydroxide, lithium nitrate, and lithium salicylate.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2025
The product was developed by scientists at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences—by some of the same scientists who did pioneering research into the endurance-boosting abilities of the nitrates found in foods such as beets.
—Alex Hutchinson, Outside, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nitrate
Cite this Entry
“Nitrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nitrate. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nitrate
noun
ni·trate
ˈnī-ˌtrāt 
-trət
1
: a chemical compound formed by the reaction of nitric acid with another substance
2
: nitrate of sodium or potassium used as a fertilizer
Medical Definition
nitrate
noun
ni·trate
ˈnī-ˌtrāt, -trət
: a salt or ester of nitric acid
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