Home North American English compost

Definition of compost in US English:

compost

noun

1Decayed organic material used as a plant fertilizer.
- ‘There is no fertilizer better than compost, and you can make it yourself for free!’
- ‘They spread the compost before plowing in the spring.’
- ‘Making leaf mould is different to making general garden compost in that only the leaves are used.’
- ‘Amend soil regularly with compost and apply organic mulches continually to enrich your soil.’
- ‘My job was to add fresh compost to the rows to make them rich for planting.’
- ‘Even a newbie to composting can make good quality compost.’
- ‘If it's bad, mix 1 cubic foot of compost into the backfill.’
- ‘For best performance amend the soil with organic matter such as compost before planting.’
- ‘I dug big planting holes, though, and mixed large amounts of compost into the backfill.’
- ‘I recycle all my fruit and vegetable scraps to make compost for my garden.’
- ‘Even with Betty's method of making compost, some ingredients tend to smell.’
- ‘I watered the planting area for each one with several litres of water, then added some fresh compost.’
- ‘Garden compost is not really suitable for this purpose because it contains weed seeds.’
- ‘Place in a well-lit spot and keep the compost lightly moist.’
- ‘Mulch in late winter with any organic material such as home-made compost, leaf mould or composted bark.’
- ‘Place in a conservatory or warm greenhouse and keep the compost moist.’
- ‘Mix plenty of compost into the soil, or grow the trees in raised beds.’
- ‘Mulch with an organic material such as compost or alfalfa hay.’
- ‘Adding compost to heavy clay soil improves drainage by improving soil structure.’
- ‘Add a little compost to the soil and fork in lightly, mulch and water.’
fertilizer, plant food, dressing, organic matter, vegetable waste, humus, peat
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1. 1.1 A mixture of decayed organic material with loam and/or other ingredients, used as a growing medium.
  ‘There are plenty of bacteria, fungi, and other critters in a shovelful of soil or finished compost to get things cooking.’
  ‘With the gardening season now getting into full swing, the trust is urging people to only use peat-free composts in their gardens.’
  ‘In the croft garden we always use peat-free composts and prefer those made from composted bark.’
  ‘Similarly, it is always best to use new potting compost when sowing seeds or transplanting seedlings.’
  ‘Sow some of the seed in a pot with multi-purpose compost or in a row in the garden.’
  ‘Alternatively, chemically-treated composts are available, which are said to keep vine weevils at bay for 12 months, or proprietary insecticides which work for about six months.’
  ‘Ingredients in commercial composts include various kinds of animal manures and lawn and garden wastes.’
  ‘He starts by filling the pot or seed tray with a mixture of seed compost and perlite (which helps aeration and drainage).’
  ‘Five plants were grown in each 25 cm diameter pot, using commercial potting compost supplemented by liquid fertilizer.’
  ‘In a nutshell, you plant the tubers sandwiched between layers of multipurpose potting compost.’
  ‘Stock up on compost, potting soil and fertilizers, or find and haul these materials from local sources to create your own.’
  ‘Used only in a do-it-myself mixture of seed compost, a single bag of peat lasted nearly a decade.’
  ‘Gardening is our fastest growing pastime and the demand for composts is greater than ever - still largely met by commercial peat extraction.’
  fertilizer, plant food, dressing, organic matter, vegetable waste, humus, peat
  View synonyms

verb

[with object]

1Make (vegetable matter or manure) into compost.
‘don't compost heavily infested plants’
- ‘Any manure, hay or other organic material must be composted fully before usage to make sure it contains no surviving and active seeds to add to your problems.’
- ‘Finally, the district will soon be getting a grant for vermi-composting, which uses worms to compost organic matter.’
- ‘As another continuing farm project, Mark uses worms to compost cow manure and coffee hulls.’
- ‘Most other plant residues can be composted, if you have a well-maintained compost pile which generates enough heat to kill disease pathogens.’
- ‘All through the summer I've been collecting and composting the used coffee grounds from work.’
- ‘This involved separating their waste into bins for glass, tins and paper, then composting suitable material.’
- ‘You could use horse manure, but make sure it is composted.’
- ‘The only environmentally acceptable way to improve the earth is to compost banana peels and recycle soy milk cartons.’
- ‘It's best not to compost fruit and leaves unless you know your pile gets hot enough to kill the pests.’
- ‘You can compost fruits, vegetables, tea bags and coffee grounds, as well as leaf and yard waste.’
- ‘As municipalities launch programs to collect and compost household food waste, interest in degradable plastics is on the rise.’
- ‘During the composting season, check your bin regularly to assure optimum moisture and aeration are present in the material being composted.’
- ‘They share a powerful shredder, and compost all healthy plant material.’
- ‘If the industry was serious about conserving supplies it would invest in water saving devices or compost the manure but that might cut profits, so they don't.’
- ‘They bent their shoulders and backs to compost hay, manure, and field stubble, and transplanted plants from the woods into their own yards.’
- ‘He filled the tanks with a mix of 3 parts composted organic matter and 1 part each soil, sand, and pumice.’
- ‘It is unlikely there will now be much left in our grey bin, given that my household already recycles many other waste items and composts green and kitchen waste.’
- ‘At this time of year it's also important to regularly remove dead flowers and leaves from plants and then compost this material for later return of the nutrients to the beds.’
- ‘When crops are growing in the fields, the manure is composted and applied to the land later.’
- ‘One of the easiest ways for a household to reduce their level of waste is to start composting their rubbish.’
1. 1.1 Treat (soil) with compost.
  ‘we turned clay soil into almost workable soil by composting it’
  ‘It climbs by means of tendrils and is best grown in a composted soil supported by a fence or trellis.’
  ‘For those of you who suffer from an inordinate amount of clay in your soil, composting is the answer.’
  ‘He saw how well the tomatoes flourished in that dark composted soil.’
  ‘They like shade and composted soil and plenty of water.’
  ‘When planting tulip or daffodil bulbs in a formal display it pays to make sure that the soil has been well composted and forked over beforehand.’
  add fertilizer to, enrich with fertilizer, feed, mulch, compost, manure, dung, dress, top-dress
  View synonyms

Origin

Late Middle English: from Old French composte, from Latin composita, compositum ‘something put together’, feminine and neuter past participle of componere.