decompose

[dee-kuhm-pohz]

verb (used with object)

decomposed, decomposing 

1. to separate or resolve into constituent parts or elements; disintegrate.

   The bacteria decomposed the milk into its solid and liquid elements.

   Synonyms: analyze, fractionate, distill

verb (used without object)

decomposed, decomposing 

1. to rot; putrefy.

   The egg began to decompose after a day in the sun.

decompose

/ ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz, ˌdiːkɒmpəˈzɪʃən /

verb

1. to break down (organic matter) or (of organic matter) to be broken down physically and chemically by bacterial or fungal action; rot

2. chem to break down or cause to break down into simpler chemical compounds

3. to break up or separate into constituent parts

4. (tr) maths to express in terms of a number of independent simpler components, as a set as a canonical union of disjoint subsets, or a vector into orthogonal components

Other Word Forms

• decomposable adjective
• decomposability noun
• undecomposable adjective
• decomposition noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of decompose¹

1745–55; < French décomposer, equivalent to dé- dis- ¹ + composer to compose

Synonym Study

See decay.

Example Sentences

But about three years after death, once the organic matter has decomposed, loved ones break open the front slab of the chamber.

Read more on Barron's

Bodies that are left to decompose do often bloat and bleed at the mouth.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But all of it came to an abrupt halt last month with the discovery of a severely decomposed body in the front trunk of his Tesla.

Read more on BBC

D4vd’s fans are dissecting his songs for clues, after the badly decomposed body of a 15-year-old girl was found in the trunk of a Tesla he owned.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Her body, found in a shallow grave outside a basement flat on Fitzhamon Embankment, was so badly decomposed it was "impossible" to establish the cause of her death.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• break down 
• decay 
• disintegrate 
• dissolve 
• fall apart 
• molder