top dressing
Americannoun
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a dressing of manure on the surface of land.
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the action of one who top-dresses.
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a top layer of gravel, crushed rock, etc., on a roadway.
noun
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a surface application of manure or fertilizer to land
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a thin layer of loose gravel that covers the top of a road surface
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of top dressing
First recorded in 1755–65
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.
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
That’s not considered a compost, that’s more a top dressing.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 10, 2021
Then the tired manure is stripped off, sold to golf courses as a top dressing for $1.50 a ton.
From Time Magazine Archive
Why may soot be used as a top dressing without losing its ammonia?
From The Elements of Agriculture A Book for Young Farmers, with Questions Prepared for the Use of Schools by George E. (George Edwin) Waring
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.
