manure
Americannoun
-
excrement, especially of animals, or other refuse used as fertilizer.
-
any natural or artificial substance for fertilizing the soil.
verb (used with object)
-
manures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
manured,
past participle, past
-
manuring
present participle
noun
-
animal excreta, usually with straw, used to fertilize land
-
any material, esp chemical fertilizer, used to fertilize land
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
manuresimple
-
manuressimple
-
have manuredperfect
-
has manuredperfect
-
am manuringprogressive
-
are manuringprogressive
-
is manuringprogressive
-
have been manuringperfect progressive
-
has been manuringperfect progressive
Past
-
manuredsimple
-
had manuredperfect
-
was manuringprogressive
-
were manuringprogressive
-
had been manuringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of manure
1350–1400; Middle English manouren to till, cultivate < Middle French manouvrer to do manual work. See maneuver
Explanation
Gardeners use the word manure to mean a fertilizer made from animal waste. Manure is good for helping plants grow and stay healthy. When you spread manure on your vegetable garden, you're feeding the soil and plants with nutrients that encourage growth. The manure itself might be, for example, a combination of cow dung and straw, or slightly decomposed chicken waste. Sometimes the word manure is used for any kind of fertilizer, including those made entirely from plants. The earliest meaning of manure was "to cultivate land," from an Old French root word, manouvrer, "to work with the hands or cultivate."
Vocabulary lists containing manure
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Charlotte's Web
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Because of Mr. Terupt
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Instead, it leaks, gushes or wafts from landfills, oil and gas equipment and manure pits at dairy operations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Some POWs said there were still traces of manure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
The smell of sweet milk hung in the air, mixed with the earthy musk of manure.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
He uses mostly poultry litter, an organic fertilizer comprised of bird manure, feathers, bedding material and spilled feed, and he buys a lot of it — 3,125 tons each year.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
One of the attendants was washing the sea-lion manure off the middle platform of the pool, and at least he was able to do that with a certain degree of proficiency.
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
Sewage discharges, runoff of fertilisers and manures from farms and wastewater from industry can all increase nutrient levels in rivers and estuaries.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
Composting is great for boosting soil fertility, and many organic farmers use cover crops, or green manures, to improve their soil structure and fertility.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2022
The company also sells bulk-aged and screened manures, organic fertilizers and custom soil mixes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2020
Over decades, both chemical fertilizers and chicken manure and other manures have been applied to the berry crops to provide extra nitrogen to help maximize berry growth.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Later there would also be need for seeds and artificial manures, besides various tools and, finally, the machinery for the windmill.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
At Heligan, the soil was manured, aerated, and assiduously double dug for centuries; plants must have been queuing at the gates.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 2, 2019
We Yahoos who pledged our manured acres and sacred honor for loans to the Yazoos are paying to the last acre, the last cow, the last pig.
From Time Magazine Archive
Every boulevard shrub had been freshly manured to make the capital a little greener for its first visit, this week, from a U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
Within two days, both the chicken culture and a similar culture from heavily manured soil produced the same antibiotic.
From Time Magazine Archive
The mind ov man iz like a piece ov land that, tew be useful, must be manured with learning, ploughed with energy, sown with virtew, and harvested with ekonemy.
From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Henry W. Shaw
The difference may be due to monks manuring crops in friary gardens with their own faeces, the study suggests.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2022
Less is known about the manuring practices of lower classes in the town.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 18, 2022
When traditional methods became too unprofitable to protect their independence, farmers began manuring their fields and clearing wood lots to boost productivity.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
The Spaniards seem to have had a notion of manuring their land with shells one foot deep.
From The Spaniards in Florida Comprising the notable settlement of the Huguenots in 1564, and the History and Antiquities of St. Augustine, Founded A.D. 1565 by George R. Fairbanks
Before offering a list of money crops to farmers we shall have a word to say in the following pages about economic manuring.
From Farm Gardening with Hints on Cheap Manuring Quick Cash Crops and How to Grow Them by Anonymous
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
