phosphate

plural phosphates

1. countableuncountablechemistryAny salt or ester of phosphoric acid.

   Bony fishes were judicious in their use of phosphate as a building material: their teeth, a few parts of the skeleton, and that was it.

   2022 November 4, Natalie Angier, “The Sad Fate of the Ancient, Well-Shelled Mariners”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Nov 2022

   1 more example

   Make sure you don’t use detergents with phosphates or nonylphenol ethoxylate surfactants, but that information is rarely available on the labels.

   2009 February 26, Julie Scelfo, “When It Comes to Detergents, What’s the Least Irresponsible Choice?”, in The New York Times

2. countableuncountableagricultureAny fertiliser containing phosphate compounds.
3. countableuncountableGuano (containing high levels of phosphates and harvested for the fertiliser industry).
4. UScountabledatedregionaluncountableA carbonated soft drink containing phosphoric acid, often flavored with a fruit-based syrup.

   An egg phosphate is a phosphate to which an egg has been added in the proper manner. While an egg phosphate can be flavored with any syrup that makes a good phosphate, still the standard flavor by long usage has com to be orange […]

   1920, Irving P. Fox, The Spatula, page 27

   2 more examples

   “This man here,” she said, “can make you a cherry Coke or a chocolate Coke or a phosphate — a chocolate phosphate or. “Vanilla phosphate,” the man helped, “cherry phosphate, orange phosphate, lime phosphate, lemon phosphate,

   2002, Michael Raleigh, In the castle of the Flynns, page 180

   You order California burgers for us both, even though I don't eat lettuce or tomato, then you order me a phosphate, cherry, a dreadful fizzy drink you say you always loved. It's bitter, bubbly, unbearable; but, thirsty for your past, force myself to drink it.

   2008, Kathryn Kysar, Riding shotgun: women write about their mothers, page 106

present singular third person phosphates · participle present phosphating · participle past phosphated · past phosphated

1. transitiveTo treat or coat with a phosphate or phosphoric acid.