Compost

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /kÉ‘mpoÊŠst/
• UK IPA: /kÉ’mpÉ’st/
• Hyphenation: com + post

Origin

From Old Northern French composte ("mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for fertilizing land" also "condiment"), from Latin compositus ("composed, compound"), from componere. Cognate with compote.

Full definition of compost

Noun

1. The decayed remains of organic matter that has rotted into a natural fertilizerDig plenty of compost into clay or sandy soil to improve its structure.
• ShakespeareAnd do not spread the compost on the weeds
  To make them ranker.
• 21 April 2014, 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], The 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.
2. (obsolete) A mixture; a compound.
• HammondA sad compost of more bitter than sweet.

Verb

1. To produce compost, let organic matter decay into fertilizerIf you compost your grass clippings, you can improve your soil.