nitrogen fixation

noun

Definition of nitrogen fixation

: the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into a combined form (such as ammonia) through chemical and especially biological action (such as that of soil rhizobia)

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These plants collaborate with soil bacteria to absorb nitrogen from the air and deposit it in tiny root nodules—a process called nitrogen fixation. — Beth Hanson, Good Housekeeping, "Grow Healthier Crops Using These Natural Nitrogen Sources," 24 Aug. 2015 Johan Kers, Joyn Bio’s head of nitrogen fixation, said in a statement. — Mark Glover, sacbee, "Joint venture with West Sacramento ties has new name | The Sacramento Bee," 20 Mar. 2018 In chemistry applications, a few hundred qubits can be used for, say, helping develop catalysts for nitrogen fixation. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Microsoft makes play for next wave of computing with quantum computing toolkit," 25 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nitrogen fixation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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The first known use of nitrogen fixation was in 1893

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More Definitions for nitrogen fixation

nitrogen fixation

noun

nitrogen fix·a·tion | \-fik-ˈsā-shən\

Kids Definition of nitrogen fixation

: the changing of nitrogen into an available and useful form especially by bacteria ( nitrogen-fixing bacteria )

nitrogen fixation

noun

Medical Definition of nitrogen fixation

1 : the industrial conversion of free nitrogen into combined forms useful especially as starting materials for fertilizers or explosives

2 : the metabolic assimilation of atmospheric nitrogen by soil microorganisms and especially rhizobia and its release for plant use by nitrification in the soil on the death of the microorganisms