Eutrophication
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The process of becoming eutrophic; the ecosystem's response to the addition of artificial or natural nutrients, mainly phosphates, through detergents, fertilizers, or sewage, to an aquatic system. countable, uncountable
"I already hinted at the problem of sea eutrophication (where excess nutrients cause algae to flourish) due to the phosphates that used to be added to washing powder, and, surely, it is not pleasant for plants to find underfoot (or, better, "underroot") those surfactants we use daily at home (please, never pour your dishwater on the roots of a magnificent camellia, even if it is blooming in the garden of a next-door neighbor you cannot stand)."
- 2 excessive nutrients in a lake or other body of water, usually caused by runoff of nutrients (animal waste, fertilizers, sewage) from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life; the decomposition of the plants depletes the supply of oxygen, leading to the death of animal life wordnet
Example
More examples"Eutrophication is a big word that describes a big problem in the nation's estuaries."
Etymology
From eutrophicate + -ion.
More for "eutrophication"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.