From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishphosphatephos‧phate /ˈfɒsfeɪt $ ˈfɑːs-/ noun [countable, uncountable] 1 HCCone of the various forms of a salt of phosphorus, often used in industry2 [usually plural]TA a substance containing a phosphate used for making plants grow better
Examples from the Corpus
phosphate• The second interferon-induced enzyme adds a phosphate group to a protein that is essential for the synthesis of new proteins to begin.• The algae feeds on nitrogen and phosphates which come into the water from agriculture and sewage.• Conversely, potassium and phosphate are the principal intracellular cations and anions, respectively.• Intravenous phosphate has been recommended for lowering the serum calcium when other measures have failed.• The repressor also recognizes sequence-dependent distortion or flexibility of the operator phosphate backbone, conferring specificity even for inaccessible base pairs.• Obviously, careful monitoring of the serum phosphate level is appropriate.• The problem had hit Britain now because we were feeding the algae with phosphates and nitrates and causing blooms.• When cleaned, non-ferrous metals are best brought to a bright finish before priming with zinc chromate or zinc phosphate.Origin phosphate (1700-1800) French acide phosphorique “phosphoric acid” 