- 1cross-fertilize something (biology) to fertilize a plant using pollen from a different plant of the same species Unlike other cereals, rye is cross-fertilized.
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- 2cross-fertilize something to help something develop in a useful or positive way by mixing ideas from a different area The study of psychology has recently been widely cross-fertilized by new discoveries in genetics.
cross-fertilize
verbVerb Forms present simple I / you / we / they cross-fertilize
he / she / it cross-fertilizes
past simple cross-fertilized
-ing form cross-fertilizing
noun [uncountable, singular]See cross-fertilize in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Check pronunciation: cross-fertilize