compost

«compost» in Mova's school dictionary: A dark, crumbly mixture made from rotted plant and food… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (compost — uncountable); verb (compost, composts, composted, composting)

meaning for a pupil

1) A dark, crumbly mixture made from rotted plant and food waste, used to feed the soil and help plants grow. tree →

2) (verb) To put waste such as peelings and leaves in a heap or bin so it rots into compost. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science, composting shows decomposition: worms, fungi and bacteria break down dead plants. In everyday life families keep a compost bin for fruit peel, tea bags and grass. It helps reduce rubbish (recycling). Phrases: «compost heap», «compost bin», «garden compost».

examples

• We put apple cores in the compost bin. tree →
• Worms help turn waste into compost. tree →
• Gran digs compost into her vegetable beds. tree →
• Do not put meat or plastic in the compost. tree →
• The compost heap felt warm inside. tree →
• Our class started composting the fruit from snack time. tree →
• Compost makes the soil rich and dark. tree →

note

Uncountable noun: «some compost», not «a compost». Stress: «COM-post». Rotting is slow; compost can take months. Wash your hands after touching compost.

In the corpora

• Many zoos turn elephant dung into compost for gardens, and in some countries it is even made into paper.
• A compost heap gets warm because microbes break down the scraps and release energy as heat.
• Food scraps can be composted: microbes break them down into compost, which feeds plants.
• Rubbish goes in the right bin: recycling, compost or general waste.
• Put lunch rubbish in the right bin: recycling, compost or general waste.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «compost» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.