Compost
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The decayed remains of organic matter that has rotted into a natural fertilizer. countable, uncountable
"Dig plenty of compost into clay or sandy soil to improve its structure."
- 2 a mixture of decaying vegetation and manure; used as a fertilizer wordnet
- 3 A medium in which one can cultivate plants. UK, countable, uncountable
"Once the seed tray is filled with compost, insert the seeds spaced 3 cm apart from one another."
- 4 A mixture; a compound. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"A sad compost of more bitter than sweet."
- 1 To produce compost, let organic matter decay into fertilizer.
"If you compost your grass clippings, you can improve your soil."
- 2 convert to compost wordnet
Example
More examples"Spread compost on the garden beds before planting your seedlings."
Etymology
From Middle English compost, from Old Northern French compost (“mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for fertilizing land" also "condiment”), from Latin compositus (“composed”), from componere. Doublet of compote, which was taken from modern French, composite, and kompot.
Related phrases
More for "compost"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.