topsoil
Americannoun
-
topsoils
plural
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
-
to spread topsoil on (land)
-
to remove the topsoil from (land)
Discover More
The loss of topsoil through erosion is a major agricultural problem.
Most of the land-based biological activity of the Earth takes place here.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of topsoil
Vocabulary lists containing topsoil
Natural Resources and the Environment - Introductory
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Natural Resources and the Environment - Middle School and High School
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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:
According to LVV's head of environment Tommi Muilu, work at the sites included the removal of trees and topsoil, the construction of site roads and storage areas, and changes to ditches.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
By clearing invasive trees and replanting native grasslands, he replenished the land’s topsoil and resurrected a dozen natural springs—which, in turn, lured back birds, insects and other wildlife.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
One method -- termed "moving mountains" -- was described in 2015 by China's top industry and technology regulator as "first cutting down trees, then clearing weeds and finally stripping away the topsoil, causing irreparable damage".
From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025
Those tests typically had been used to determine whether cleanup crews should remove more than the first 6 inches of topsoil.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2025
“You know, Nan, I was talking to Jubilee about buying some grass seed for the yard. You’re losing your topsoil because there’s nothing rooted down.”
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
France's cadmium rate in earth of 0.25 mg/kg is only slightly higher than the EU average of 0.20, according to a 2024 study of topsoils in the bloc.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
Healthy topsoils are also seriously diminished, as are agricultural lands, converted to other uses, and global food supplies, which are ever more expensive.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 15, 2010
Other sites may have gooey, very fine clay topsoils, almost inevitably with gooey, very fine clay subsoils as well.
From Gardening Without Irrigation: or without much, anyway by Steve Solomon
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.
