humus

«humus» in Mova's school dictionary: The dark, rich part of soil made from dead and rotting… — 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 (humus, uncountable)

meaning for a pupil

(science) The dark, rich part of soil made from dead and rotting leaves, plants and animals; it feeds plants. tree →

sense in the lessons

A science and gardening word: humus makes soil fertile and holds water. Learned in lessons about soil, compost, decomposers and worms. Phrases: «rich in humus», «humus layer».

examples

• Worms help turn dead leaves into humus. tree →
• Humus makes the soil dark and rich. tree →
• Plants grow well in soil full of humus. tree →
• Compost becomes humus over time. tree →
• The top layer of the forest floor is rich in humus. tree →
• Humus holds water like a sponge. tree →

note

Uncountable: no plural. Trap: «humus» (soil) and «hummus» (a dip made from chickpeas) sound almost the same — «HYOO-mus» vs «HUM-us»; the food has double «m».

In the corpora

• Soil is a mix of tiny rock pieces, rotting plant and animal matter called humus, water, air and living things.
• Soil is made of broken rock, humus, water, air and living things.
• Humus is the dark material made from rotted plants and animals, and it is rich in nutrients.
• Loam is a mix of sand, silt, clay and humus and is good for most plants.
• Topsoil is the dark upper layer with the most humus and life; below it lie subsoil and then solid rock.

Trees and pragmatics

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