Fertilization - Dictionary Definition and Overview

Fertilization : (noun)
1: creation by the physical union of male and female gametes; of sperm and ova in an animal or pollen and ovule in a plant [syn: fertilisation, fecundation, impregnation]
2: making fertile as by applying fertilizer or manure [syn: fertilisation, fecundation, dressing]

Based on WordNet 2.0

Fertilization : \Fer`ti*li*za"tion\, n. 1. The act or process of rendering fertile.

2. (Biol.) The act of fecundating or impregnating animal or vegetable germs; esp., the process by which in flowers the pollen renders the ovule fertile, or an analogous process in flowerless plants; fecundation; impregnation.

Close fertilization (Bot.), the fertilization of pistils by pollen derived from the stamens of the same blossom.

Cross fertilization, fertilization by pollen from some other blossom. See under Cross, a.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Fertilization : Fertilization: Fertilization is the process of combining the male gamete, or "sperm," with the female gamete, or "ovum." The product of this combination is a cell called a zygote.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)