🇺🇸
/ˈæzətaɪz/
🇺🇸
/ˈæzətaɪz/
🇬🇧
/ˈæzətaɪz/
🇬🇧
/ˈæzətaɪz/
Past Tense
azotised
Past Participle
azotised
Gerund
azotising
3rd Person
azotises
Azotise is a technical verb meaning to introduce nitrogen—or nitrogen-containing compounds—into a substance, especially soil or organic material, often to enrich it for plant growth. It’s commonly used in agriculture and biochemistry to describe natural (e.g., by bacteria) or industrial processes that convert inert atmospheric nitrogen into biologically usable forms.
Certain leguminous plants can azotise the soil through symbiotic bacteria in their root nodules.
Industrial fertilisers are designed to azotise crops efficiently without overloading ecosystems.
Before planting, farmers may azotise depleted fields using composted manure or synthetic nitrates.
Cyanobacteria in aquatic environments help azotise water systems, supporting algal blooms and food webs.
Unlike nitrification, which converts ammonia to nitrates, azotise refers specifically to the initial incorporation of elemental nitrogen into compounds.
azot-
Comes from the French 'azote' (coined by Antoine Lavoisier from Greek 'a-' (without) + 'zōē' (life)), meaning 'nitrogen', based on nitrogen's inability to support life. The root 'azot-' denotes nitrogen or nitrogen-containing compounds. Examples include azote, azotic, azotemia, azotobacter, azotification.