compost en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈkɔːm.poːsʈ/ (India)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈkɒm.pɒst/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈkɑm.poʊst/ (General-American)
- /kəmˈpoːsʈ/ (India)
Etymology
From Middle English compost, from Old Northern French compost (“a mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for fertilizing land, also a condiment”), from Latin compositus (“composed”), from componere. Doublet of compote, which was taken from modern French, composite, and kompot.
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) The decayed remains of organic matter that has rotted into a natural fertilizer.
[T]he very wet winter will have washed much of the goodness out of the soil. Homemade compost and the load of manure we get from a friendly farmer may not be enough to compensate for what has leached from the ground.
2014 April 21, Mary Keen, “You can still teach an old gardener new tricks: Even the hardiest of us gardeners occasionally learn useful new techniques [print version: Gardening is always ready to teach even the hardiest of us a few new tricks, 19 April 2014]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening), page G7:And do not spread the compost on the weeds / To make them ranker.
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:Dig plenty of compost into clay or sandy soil to improve its structure.
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(UK, countable, uncountable) A medium in which one can cultivate plants.
Once the seed tray is filled with compost, insert the seeds spaced 3 cm apart from one another.
[T]he term 'compost' is commonly used to mean the material used to fill pots, seed trays and containers.
Royal Horticultural Society, Organic matter: what is it?, retrieved 29 Mar 2021:
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(countable, obsolete, uncountable) A mixture; a compound.
A sad compost of more bitter than sweet.
a. 1660, Henry Hammond, God's Complaint Against Revolters:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| composts | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
compost heap · compostlike · composter · potting compost · vermicompost · composture · composty · compost tumbler · semicompost
Translations (37)
bg компо́ст (decayed remains of organic matter) · el φουσκί (decayed remains of organic matter) · vi phân trộn (decayed remains of organic matter) · it compost (decayed remains of organic matter) · ko 퇴비 (decayed remains of organic matter) · nl compost (decayed remains of organic matter) · ru компо́ст (decayed remains of organic matter) · sv kompost (decayed remains of organic matter) · de Kompost (decayed remains of organic matter) · pt composto (decayed remains of organic matter) · mi onepōpopo (decayed remains of organic matter) · da kompost (decayed remains of organic matter) · io komposto (decayed remains of organic matter) · fi komposti (decayed remains of organic matter) · pl kompost (decayed remains of organic matter) · sl kompost (decayed remains of organic matter) · el κοπρόχωμα (decayed remains of organic matter) · ca compost (decayed remains of organic matter) · ru перегно́й (decayed remains of organic matter) · fr compost (decayed remains of organic matter) · io dungo (decayed remains of organic matter) · id kompos (decayed remains of organic matter) · tr kompost (decayed remains of organic matter) · ko 콤포스트 (decayed remains of organic matter) · fi kompostimulta (decayed remains of organic matter) · nn kompost (decayed remains of organic matter) · gl compost (decayed remains of organic matter) · nb kompost (decayed remains of organic matter) · mk компост (decayed remains of organic matter) · hi खाद (decayed remains of organic matter) · cmn 堆肥 (decayed remains of organic matter) · ja 堆肥 (decayed remains of organic matter) · es compost (decayed remains of organic matter) · eo kompoŝto (decayed remains of organic matter) · ja コンポスト (decayed remains of organic matter) · gl estrume (decayed remains of organic matter) · cs kompost (decayed remains of organic matter)