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Definition of "nitrogen" []

  • A nonmetallic element that constitutes nearly four-fifths of the air by volume, occurring as a colorless, odorless, almost inert diatomic gas, N2, in various minerals and in all proteins and used in a wide variety of important manufactures, including ammonia, nitric acid, TNT, and fertilizers. Atomic number 7; atomic weight 14.0067; melting point -209.86°C; boiling point -195.8°C; valence 3, 5. See Table at element. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "nitrogen" in a sentence
  • "From a Chemical & Engineering News account at the time: "While some depictions are chemically accurate -- such as nitrogen, which shows a rooted elephant drawing nitrogen from the soil -- others are more a play on the names -- for example, the masked Lone Ranger atop a rearing white elephant representing silver.""
  • "Instead of "vilifying agriculture," it seems the filmmakers worked hard to focus on farmer-based solutions-like those of brothers Dick and Jack Gerhardt, who created a tool that assesses how much nitrogen is needed in a given field by reading chlorophyll levels."
  • "My other thought — could the ground there be too high in nitrogen?"