# phosphate

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈfɒsfeɪt/ · frequency rank #16,770

## Definitions
1. Any salt or ester of phosphoric acid.
2. Any fertiliser containing phosphate compounds.
3. Guano (containing high levels of phosphates and harvested for the fertiliser industry).
4. A carbonated soft drink containing phosphoric acid, often flavored with a fruit-based syrup.

## Etymology
From French phosphate. By surface analysis, phosphoric acid + -ate (“salt or ester”).

## Easily confused with
- **phosphatase** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/phosphatase-vs-phosphate)

## Common misspellings (14)
`hposphate`, `phhosphate`, `phopshate`, `phoshpate`, `phospahte`, `phosphaet`, `phosphatte`, `phosphhate`, `phosphtae`, `phospphate`, `phossphate`, `phsophate`, `pohsphate`, `pphosphate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/phosphate