Library / English Dictionary

DECOMPOSE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts

Synonyms:

break down; break up; decompose

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "decompose" is one way to...):

separate (divide into components or constituents)

Domain category:

chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "decompose"):

digest (soften or disintegrate by means of chemical action, heat, or moisture)

dissociate (to undergo a reversible or temporary breakdown of a molecule into simpler molecules or atoms)

crack (reduce (petroleum) to a simpler compound by cracking)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

decomposition ((chemistry) separation of a substance into two or more substances that may differ from each other and from the original substance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Break down

Example:

The bodies decomposed in the heat

Synonyms:

decompose; molder; moulder; rot

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "decompose" is one way to...):

decay (undergo decay or decomposition)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "decompose"):

biodegrade (break down naturally through the action of biological agents)

hang (suspend (meat) in order to get a gamey taste)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something ----s something

Derivation:

decomposition (the organic phenomenon of rotting)

decomposition ((biology) the process of decay caused by bacterial or fungal action)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current

Example:

the particles disintegrated during the nuclear fission process

Synonyms:

decay; decompose; disintegrate

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "decompose" is one way to...):

change integrity (change in physical make-up)

Verb group:

disintegrate (cause to undergo fission or lose particles)

Domain category:

natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Credits

 Context examples: 

Bioplastics are considered less harmful to the environment because they may be decomposed by the action of living organisms, carbon dioxide (CO2), biomass or water.

(Scientists develop biodegradable plastic from cassava starch, SciDev.Net)

These nutrients stimulate massive algal growth that eventually decomposes, which uses up the oxygen needed to support life in the Gulf.

(Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ is the largest ever measured, NOAA)

These nutrients stimulate an overgrowth of algae that sinks, decomposes, and consumes the oxygen needed to support life in the Gulf.

(2015 Gulf of Mexico dead zone ‘above average’, NOAA)

Normally, when seagrass decomposes, sulfide is produced and is toxic to clams.

(Microbe diversity is key to healthy coastal ecosystems, National Science Foundation)

Upon topical application, benzoyl peroxide decomposes to release oxygen which is lethal to the bacteria Proprionibacterium acnes.

(Benzoyl Peroxide, NCI Thesaurus)

When excess artificial fertilizer from crops, or manure from the meat industry, runs off the land and into rivers and seas, it feeds algae which bloom and then cause oxygen depletion as they decompose.

(Oceans running out of oxygen at unprecedented rate, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The reverse occurs when those organisms die: microbes start to decompose, consuming oxygen and releasing CO2 back into the air.

(Carbon hides in sediment, keeping oxygen in atmosphere, National Science Foundation)

A new study by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Harvard University may help settle a long-standing question: how do small amounts of organic carbon become locked away in rock and sediment, preventing it from decomposing?

(Carbon hides in sediment, keeping oxygen in atmosphere, National Science Foundation)

A reluctant elevator boy went for a box full of straw and some milk to which he added on his own initiative a tin of large hard dog biscuits—one of which decomposed apathetically in the saucer of milk all afternoon.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)