soil

¹ American  

[soil] / sɔɪl /

noun

1. the portion of the earth's surface consisting of disintegrated rock and humus.

2. a particular kind of earth.

   sandy soil.

3. the ground as producing vegetation or as cultivated for its crops.

   fertile soil.

4. a country, land, or region.

   an act committed on American soil.

5. the ground or earth.

   tilling the soil.

6. any place or condition providing the opportunity for growth or development.

   Some believe that poverty provides the soil for crime.

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soil ² American  

[soil] / sɔɪl /

verb (used with object)

1. to make unclean, dirty, or filthy, especially on the surface.

   to soil one's clothes.

2. to smirch, smudge, or stain.

   The ink soiled his hands.

3. to sully or tarnish, as with disgrace; defile morally.

   to soil one's good name.

   Synonyms:

   debase, taint, blacken

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verb (used without object)

1. to become soiled.

   White soils easily.

noun

1. the act or fact of soiling.

2. the state of being soiled.

3. a spot, mark, or stain.

4. dirty or foul matter; filth; sewage.

5. ordure; manure

soil ³ American  

[soil] / sɔɪl /

verb (used with object)

1. to feed (confined cattle, horses, etc.) freshly cut green fodder for roughage.

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soil ¹ British  

/ sɔɪl /

verb

1. to make or become dirty or stained

2. (tr) to pollute with sin or disgrace; sully; defile

   he soiled the family honour by his cowardice

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noun

1. the state or result of soiling

2. refuse, manure, or excrement

soil ² British  

/ sɔɪl /

noun

1. the top layer of the land surface of the earth that is composed of disintegrated rock particles, humus, water, and air See zonal soil azonal soil intrazonal soil horizon horizon

2. a type of this material having specific characteristics

   loamy soil

3. land, country, or region

   one's native soil

4. life and work on a farm; land

   he belonged to the soil, as his forefathers had

5. any place or thing encouraging growth or development

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soil ³ British  

/ sɔɪl /

verb

1. (tr) to feed (livestock) freshly cut green fodder either to fatten or purge them

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soil Scientific  

/ soil /

1. The loose top layer of the Earth's surface, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with decayed organic matter (humus), and capable of retaining water, providing nutrients for plants, and supporting a wide range of biotic communities. Soil is formed by a combination of depositional, chemical, and biological processes and plays an important role in the carbon, nitrogen, and hydrologic cycles. Soil types vary widely from one region to another, depending on the type of bedrock they overlie and the climate in which they form. In wet and humid regions, for example, soils tend to be thicker than they do in dry regions.

2. See more at A horizon B horizon C horizon See illustration at ABC soil

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soil Cultural  

1. Material on the surface of the Earth on which plants can grow. (See topsoil.)

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Discover More

Soil is produced by the weathering of rocks.

Other Word Forms

• soilless adjective

Etymology

Origin of soil¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English soil, soil(l)e “land, native land, piece of ground, earth, soil,” from Anglo-French soil, soyl, variants of Old French sueil, souil, from Latin solium “high-backed chair, throne, seat,” confused with solum “base, foundation, ground”; sole ² ( def. )

Origin of soil²

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English verb soilen, soil(l)e “to dirty,” from Old French soillier, soullier, suillier, from Vulgar Latin suculāre, (unrecorded) “to wallow like a pig,” derivative verb of suculus or sucula, diminutives of sus “pig, sow”; sow ², -cle ¹

Origin of soil³

First recorded in 1600–10; origin uncertain

Explanation

Soil is the dirt between our fingers as we garden or farm, from which all living things come and to which, as the poets never tire of reminding us, all life eventually returns. Such a big meaning for such a little word. To soil something also means to make it dirty, or to degrade it in some way — strange given the natural purity of soil. Sometimes nations talk about their soil, meaning the geographical area over which they have governance. In England in the eighteenth and nineteenth century the euphemism "night soil" was used to describe the contents of the commodes people kept under their bed. But you probably didn't want to know that.

Example Sentences

It was a small place, crisscrossed with dirt roads that strung together a hundred-odd weathered brick houses hunched up on sandy soil.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

The other is the presence of perchlorates in the soil.

From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026

The pair, who are engaged, were part of the Red Roses squad that won the Women's Rugby World Cup on home soil last year.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

Relations strained further when US troops killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil in 2011 without telling Islamabad, and Pakistan faced accusations of complicity in harbouring the fugitive.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

Now graceful whorls of green leaves poked through the damp soil, and the stalks had begun to rise, with only a tender green swelling where the flower buds would very soon be.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• besmirch
• contaminate
• debase
• degrade
• muddy
• pollute
• smear
• smudge
• sully
• taint
• tar
• tarnish