nitrogen

nitrogen — noun

1. a gas that makes up the largest part of the air around Earth and is an important

1.nounB1
Definition

a gas that makes up the largest part of the air around Earth and is an important building block of all living plants and animals; it has no colour, taste, or smell.

Example

Farmers add nitrogen to the soil to help their crops grow better each season.

collocation: add nitrogen to the soil

The air we breathe contains about 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen.

collocation: nitrogen + oxygen / 78 percent of air

Common collocations
  • liquid nitrogen
  • nitrogen gas
  • nitrogen cycle
  • nitrogen dioxide
  • nitrogen oxide
  • fix nitrogen
  • nitrogen levels
  • nitrogen in the soil
Synonyms
  • N

    chemical symbol used on the periodic table and in formulas; not used in ordinary speech or writing

Grammar Patterns

uncountable: nitrogen + verb (singular)

Usage Note

Nitrogen is an uncountable noun — you cannot say 'a nitrogen' or 'many nitrogens'. It is typically used in scientific, agricultural, or environmental contexts rather than in everyday conversation about air.

Common Mistakes

Plants need oxygen from the soil to grow.
Plants need nitrogen from the soil to grow.
Nitrogen, not oxygen, is the element plants take from soil to build proteins.

Word family

  • nitrogenous
    adjectiveC1
  • nitrate
    nounB2
  • nitrite
    nounC1
  • nitrous
    adjectiveC1
  • nitrogenase
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While 'nitrogen' refers to the element itself — the gas in the air — related words describe different forms or compounds. 'Nitrogen' (often symbolised as N in scientific writing) is the pure element. 'Nitrate' (NO₃) is a specific compound of nitrogen and oxygen found in fertilisers and soil; it is what plants actually absorb. 'Nitrogenous' is an adjective meaning 'containing nitrogen' and is used in biology and chemistry — for example, nitrogenous bases in DNA. Use 'nitrogen' when speaking about the element or the gas in the atmosphere, 'nitrate' for the fertiliser compound, and 'nitrogenous' in technical descriptions of substances that contain nitrogen atoms.

Nnitrate ↗nitrogenous

Common collocations

Nouns

  • nitrogen levels
  • nitrogen content
  • nitrogen cycle
  • nitrogen dioxide
  • nitrogen oxide
  • nitrogen gas
  • liquid nitrogen
  • nitrogen fertiliser
  • nitrogen atom
  • nitrogen molecule

Phrases

  • fix nitrogen
  • add nitrogen to
  • contain nitrogen
  • release nitrogen
  • convert nitrogen into
  • absorb nitrogen from

Prepositions

  • nitrogen in
  • nitrogen from
  • nitrogen into
  • nitrogen to

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

The word 'nitrogen' was created in 1790 by French chemist Jean-Antoine Chaptal. He combined the Greek word 'nitron' (a form of natural salt) with the French suffix '-gène' (meaning 'producing'), because nitrogen is a key component of nitric acid and saltpetre (niter). Before this, the gas was called 'azote' in French (from Greek 'a-' meaning 'without' and 'zoe' meaning 'life'), because it does not support breathing or burning.