top dressing

American  

noun

1. a dressing of manure on the surface of land.

2. the action of one who top-dresses.

3. a top layer of gravel, crushed rock, etc., on a roadway.

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top dressing British  

noun

1. a surface application of manure or fertilizer to land

2. a thin layer of loose gravel that covers the top of a road surface

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Other Word Forms

• top dresser noun

Etymology

Origin of top dressing

First recorded in 1755–65

Example Sentences

Add a top dressing of compost and/or earthworm castings to give the plant an added boost.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2023

The soil will benefit from a little cultivation and a top dressing of compost or leaf mold, which is then scratched into the soil.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 29, 2021

You might lay a modest top dressing of rose feed to keep its floral cycles going through the fall.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2020

Then the tired manure is stripped off, sold to golf courses as a top dressing for $1.50 a ton.

From Time Magazine Archive

To review the year's activities in fertilizing: let us put a top dressing of rough manure over the beds in the fall, about three inches deep, with further protection where the climate demands it.

From Making a Rose Garden by Saylor, Henry H. (Henry Hodgman)

Related Words

• manure