fertilization

Meanings

Plural: fertilizations

Noun

• creation by the physical union of male and female gametes; of sperm and ova in an animal or pollen and ovule in a plant
• making fertile as by applying fertilizer or manure
• The act or process of rendering fertile.
• The act of fecundating or impregnating the gametes of animals, plants, etc.; including the process by which in flowers the pollen renders the ovule fertile, an analogous process in flowerless plants, or the joining of sperm and egg in animals.
• The act of applying fertilizer to soil.

Synonyms

conception, dressing, fecundation, fertilisation, impregnation, syngamy