decompose
verb (used with object)
to separate or resolve into constituent parts or elements; disintegrate.
had decomposed
-
past perfectof decompose.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Working on weekends, the couple installed the pathways and mulched the soil after it had decomposed under the weight of the sheet mulching.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2025
Investigators said it would take time to clearly identify the bodies because they had decomposed.
From Reuters ● Jun. 13, 2022
Chemical analysis of the sand beneath the burial chamber revealed a body had decomposed there.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2021
My macabre partner perched in one of the sinister “draining chairs” in the crypt, where dead priests were once seated until their flesh had decomposed.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 1, 2019
The empire had decomposed into kingdoms; the kingdoms were segregating into lordships.
From The Story of Paris by Katherine Kimball
