peat
1 Americannoun
noun
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a highly organic material found in marshy or damp regions, composed of partially decayed vegetable matter: it is cut and dried for use as fuel.
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such vegetable matter used as fertilizer or fuel.
noun
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a compact brownish deposit of partially decomposed vegetable matter saturated with water: found in uplands and bogs in temperate and cold regions and used as a fuel (when dried) and as a fertilizer
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( as modifier )
peat bog
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a piece of dried peat for use as fuel
noun
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archaic a person, esp a woman
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obsolete a term of endearment for a girl or woman
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Partially decayed vegetable matter, especially peat moss, found in bogs. The low levels of oxygen and the acidic environment in bogs prevent the degradation of peat. Peat is burned as fuel and also used as fertilizer.
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See more at bog
Other Word Forms
- peaty adjective
Etymology
Origin of peat1
First recorded in 1560–70; origin uncertain
Origin of peat1
1300–50; Middle English pete (compare Anglo-Latin peta ) < ?
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.
He grew up a farmer, and when he founded a golf course here 30 years ago, his favorite part was moving dirt around what had once been a peat bog.
To investigate how and when these environments developed, the researchers examined peat samples collected from South America, Australasia, southern Africa and the sub-Antarctic islands.
From Science Daily
Part of the reasoning in 2018 was site investigations found the ground underlain with peat deposits, as well as toxic and phytotoxic - meaning poisonous to plants - risk from shallow soils.
From BBC
He noted that “holdover” is also used to describe peat bog fires that burn many feet below the surface for weeks or months, even under snowpack.
From Los Angeles Times
In parts of the Highland landscape the fires penetrated deep, burning away peat that would have formed thousands of years ago.
From BBC
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.
