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# nitrogen

noun (nitrogen — uncountable; symbol N)

«nitrogen» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

A gas with no colour, no smell and no taste that makes up about 78% (nearly four fifths) of the air around us. It is a chemical element with the symbol N. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nitrogen/#m1)

### In the lessons

In science, the air is mostly nitrogen (about 78%) and oxygen (about 21%), with small amounts of other gases like carbon dioxide and argon. We breathe nitrogen in and out without using it. Plants need nitrogen to grow, but they get it from the soil (nitrates), helped by bacteria and fertilisers, not straight from the air. Liquid nitrogen is extremely cold (about −196 °C) and can freeze things instantly — only scientists handle it. Phrases: "nitrogen gas", "liquid nitrogen", "nitrogen cycle", "nitrogen in the air".

### Examples

- Most of the air we breathe is nitrogen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nitrogen/#x1)
- About 78 out of every 100 parts of air are nitrogen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nitrogen/#x2)
- Plants need nitrogen to grow green leaves. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nitrogen/#x3)
- The scientist froze a flower in liquid nitrogen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nitrogen/#x4)
- Nitrogen has the chemical symbol N. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nitrogen/#x5)
- Fertilisers give plants extra nitrogen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nitrogen/#x6)
- Crisp packets are filled with nitrogen to keep crisps fresh. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nitrogen/#x7)
- Nitrogen has no colour and no smell. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nitrogen/#x8)

### Note

Uncountable: "nitrogen", not "a nitrogen". Myth: the air is mostly oxygen — it is not; it is mostly nitrogen. In maths, 78% of air is nitrogen means in 100 litres of air, about 78 litres are nitrogen. Liquid nitrogen is dangerous: it can cause frostbite-like burns.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «nitrogen» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nitrogen/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«nitrogen» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/nitrogen.html) on Mova free.