compost
a mixture of various decaying organic substances, as dead leaves or manure, used for fertilizing soil.
a composition; compound.
to use in compost; make compost of: to compost manure and kitchen scraps.
to apply compost to (soil).
to make compost: Shredded leaves will compost easily.
Origin of compost
1Other words from compost
- com·post·a·ble, adjective
- com·post·er, noun
Words Nearby compost
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use compost in a sentence
She’s been tracking the amount of carbon her farm retains if she adds compost and rarely tills the land.
Farmers Want to Create San Diego’s Carbon Dumps | MacKenzie Elmer | February 3, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoA smaller farm like Solidarity can’t afford to both haul the compost from landfills and cover the cost to purchase different specialized equipment to turn it and spread it.
Environment Report: Local Farms Want Your Table Scraps | MacKenzie Elmer | January 25, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoCity residents can pick up some free compost for their own gardens from Miramar Greenery.
Environment Report: Local Farms Want Your Table Scraps | MacKenzie Elmer | January 25, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoThen the team added a bit of material from either the soil or the compost.
Here’s how to make flip-flops biodegradable | Kathiann Kowalski | December 8, 2020 | Science News For StudentsThe team found 10 organisms — groups of five each from compost and soil — that survived together by breaking down the foam.
Here’s how to make flip-flops biodegradable | Kathiann Kowalski | December 8, 2020 | Science News For Students
I departed for the compost heap happy that I was almost done cleaning the chicken coop.
What Did TJ Mean By “Pursuit of Happiness,” Anyway? | P. J. O’Rourke | June 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn those parts, garbage must be separated from food compost as well as the usual recycling categories.
‘Portlandia’: Carrie Brownstein on Season 2 and Its Success | Tricia Romano | January 4, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTFiguring out whether to throw out your lipstick-stained coffee cup in recycling, trash, or compost can be truly maddening.
‘Portlandia’: Carrie Brownstein on Season 2 and Its Success | Tricia Romano | January 4, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTIt is likewise formed daring the decay of animal and vegetable matters, and is consequently evolved from dung and compost heaps.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry | Thomas AndersonRake up the leaves, and add everything of this kind to the compost heap.
Amateur Gardencraft | Eben E. RexfordWhy do we not then persuade husbandmen that they should not till land, help it with marl, lime, and compost?
Discoveries Made Upon Men and Matter | Ben JonsonWe cannot let our Lady Joan set forth for field with such a compost of mumpers and tun-barrels as these!
Joan of the Sword Hand | S(amuel) R(utherford) CrockettIt's the shell of a compost pit for the hotel that's goin' to be built around here.
Operation Terror | William Fitzgerald Jenkins
British Dictionary definitions for compost
/ (ˈkɒmpɒst) /
a mixture of organic residues such as decomposed vegetation, manure, etc, used as a fertilizer
a mixture, normally of plant remains, peat, charcoal, etc, in which plants are grown, esp in pots
rare a compound or mixture
to make (vegetable matter) into compost
to fertilize with compost
Origin of compost
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for compost
[ kŏm′pōst′ ]
A mixture of decayed or decaying organic matter used to fertilize soil. Compost is usually made by gathering plant material, such as leaves, grass clippings, and vegetable peels, into a pile or bin and letting it decompose as a result of the action of aerobic bacteria, fungi, and other organisms.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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