Fertilization

Alternative forms

• fertilisation

Origin

From French fertilisation

Full definition of fertilization

Noun

1. The act or process of rendering fertile.
2. The act of fecundating or impregnating animal or vegetable gametes; especially, the process by which in flowers the pollen renders the ovule fertile, or an analogous process in flowerless plants; fecundation; impregnation.
• 2013, Katrina G. Claw, Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm, In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.

Synonyms

• conception
• fecundation
• syngamy

Derived terms

• in vitro fertilization