compost

compost — noun

1. a dark brown material produced by the natural breakdown of leaves and other plan

1.nounB1
Definition

a dark brown material produced by the natural breakdown of leaves and other plant matter, used in gardens to make the soil richer and improve plant growth.

Example

Ari spread a layer of compost around the tomato plants in his vegetable patch.

collocation: spread a layer of compost

The community garden sells bags of compost to local residents every spring.

Common collocations
  • make compost
  • spread compost
  • add compost
  • garden compost
  • homemade compost
  • a layer of compost
  • compost heap/pile
  • compost bin
Synonyms
  • fertilizer

    broader term — compost is a specific type of organic fertilizer; fertilizer can also be chemical

  • humus

    technically the fully decomposed layer of soil, but often used interchangeably with compost in informal gardening talk

Usage Note

Usually uncountable. In gardening contexts, it can be made countable when referring to different types or batches ('a good compost', 'several composts').

Common Mistakes

I threw the banana peel into the compost.' (when meaning the bin).
I threw the banana peel into the compost bin.
'compost' is the material, not the container.

compost — verb

Word family

  • composting
    nounB1
  • composter
    nounB1
  • compostable
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Compost is made by letting plant waste decay naturally, and it both feeds the soil and improves its structure. Fertilizer is a broader category that includes both organic products like compost and chemical mixtures designed to supply specific nutrients. Mulch is a layer of material (wood chips, straw, bark) spread on top of the soil to retain moisture and block weeds — it does not feed the soil as compost does. Humus technically refers to the stable, fully decomposed organic matter within soil, whereas compost is the partially decomposed material added by gardeners. In everyday gardening, people say 'add compost to the soil' (dig it in) but 'spread mulch on the soil' (leave it on top).

compostfertilizermulchhumus

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bin
  • heap
  • pile

Adverbs

  • regularly
  • at home

Phrases

  • compost heap
  • compost bin
  • compost pile

Prepositions

  • into

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Compost entered English in the 1300s from Old French 'composte', meaning a mixture or a seasoned dish, which came from Latin 'compositus' meaning 'put together' or 'composed'. The gardening sense — decayed organic material used to enrich soil — developed in the 1500s and became widely used in the 1800s as scientific gardening grew popular.