decompose

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de·com·pose

(dē′kəm-pōz′)

v. de·com·posed, de·com·pos·ing, de·com·pos·es

v.tr.

1. To separate into components or basic elements.

2. To cause to rot.

v.intr.

1. To become broken down into components; disintegrate.

2. To decay; rot or putrefy. See Synonyms at decay.

de′com·pos′a·bil′i·ty n.

de′com·pos′a·ble adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

decompose

(ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz)

1. (Biology) to break down (organic matter) or (of organic matter) to be broken down physically and chemically by bacterial or fungal action; rot

2. (Chemistry) chem to break down or cause to break down into simpler chemical compounds

3. (Chemistry) to break up or separate into constituent parts

4. (Mathematics) (tr) maths to express in terms of a number of independent simpler components, as a set as a canonical union of disjoint subsets, or a vector into orthogonal components

ˌdecomˈposable adj

ˌdecomˌposaˈbility n

decomposition n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

de•com•pose

(ˌdi kəmˈpoʊz)

v. -posed, -pos•ing. v.t.

1. to separate or resolve into constituent parts or elements; disintegrate.

v.i.

2. to rot; putrefy.

[1745–55; < French décomposer]

de`com•pos′a•ble, adj.

de`com•po•si′tion (-kɒm pəˈzɪʃ ən) n.

syn: See decay.

decompose

Past participle: decomposed
Gerund: decomposing

Imperative
decompose
decompose

Present
I decompose
you decompose
he/she/it decomposes
we decompose
you decompose
they decompose

Preterite
I decomposed
you decomposed
he/she/it decomposed
we decomposed
you decomposed
they decomposed

Present Continuous
I am decomposing
you are decomposing
he/she/it is decomposing
we are decomposing
you are decomposing
they are decomposing

Present Perfect
I have decomposed
you have decomposed
he/she/it has decomposed
we have decomposed
you have decomposed
they have decomposed

Past Continuous
I was decomposing
you were decomposing
he/she/it was decomposing
we were decomposing
you were decomposing
they were decomposing

Past Perfect
I had decomposed
you had decomposed
he/she/it had decomposed
we had decomposed
you had decomposed
they had decomposed

Future
I will decompose
you will decompose
he/she/it will decompose
we will decompose
you will decompose
they will decompose

Future Perfect
I will have decomposed
you will have decomposed
he/she/it will have decomposed
we will have decomposed
you will have decomposed
they will have decomposed

Future Continuous
I will be decomposing
you will be decomposing
he/she/it will be decomposing
we will be decomposing
you will be decomposing
they will be decomposing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been decomposing
you have been decomposing
he/she/it has been decomposing
we have been decomposing
you have been decomposing
they have been decomposing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been decomposing
you will have been decomposing
he/she/it will have been decomposing
we will have been decomposing
you will have been decomposing
they will have been decomposing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been decomposing
you had been decomposing
he/she/it had been decomposing
we had been decomposing
you had been decomposing
they had been decomposing

Conditional
I would decompose
you would decompose
he/she/it would decompose
we would decompose
you would decompose
they would decompose

Past Conditional
I would have decomposed
you would have decomposed
he/she/it would have decomposed
we would have decomposed
you would have decomposed
they would have decomposed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	decompose - separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts break down, break up chemical science, chemistry - the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions 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; "acids dissociate to give hydrogen ions" crack - reduce (petroleum) to a simpler compound by cracking separate - divide into components or constituents; "Separate the wheat from the chaff"
	2.	decompose - lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current; "the particles disintegrated during the nuclear fission process" decay, disintegrate natural philosophy, physics - the science of matter and energy and their interactions; "his favorite subject was physics" change integrity - change in physical make-up disintegrate - cause to undergo fission or lose particles
	3.	decompose - break down; "The bodies decomposed in the heat" molder, moulder, rot biodegrade - break down naturally through the action of biological agents; "Plastic bottles do not biodegrade" hang - suspend (meat) in order to get a gamey taste; "hang the venison for a few days" decay - undergo decay or decomposition; "The body started to decay and needed to be cremated"

decompose

verb

1. rot, spoil, corrupt, crumble, decay, perish, fester, corrode, moulder, go bad, putrefy foods which decompose and rot

2. break down, break up, crumble, deteriorate, fall apart, disintegrate, degenerate Plastics take years to decompose.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

decompose

verb

1. To reduce or become reduced to pieces or components:

break down, break up, crumble, disintegrate, dissolve, fragment, fragmentize.

2. To become or cause to become rotten or unsound:

break down, decay, deteriorate, disintegrate, molder, putrefy, rot, spoil, taint, turn.

Idioms: go bad, go to pot, go to seed.

Translations

يُحَلِّل، يَتَحَلَّل

rozkládat serozložit

rådne

verwesen

descomponer descomponerse

kõdunemalagundama

hajottaalahotamaatuamädäntyämädätä

décomposer

elrothad

rotna

decomporre decomporsi scomporre

ardomoji medžiagairimasskaidomoji medžiaga

sairttrūdēt

ontbinden vergaan verrotten

bryte ned oppløse

çürü mek

腐烂

decompose

[ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz]

A. VT (= rot) → descomponer, pudrir

B. VI → descomponerse, pudrirse

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

decompose

[ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz] vi [body, plant] → se décomposer

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

decompose

vt (Chem, Phys) → zerlegen; (= rot) → zersetzen

vi → zerlegt werden; (= rot) → sich zersetzen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

decompose

[ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz]

1. vi → decomporsi

2. vt → decomporre

decompose

(diːkəmˈpouz) verb

(of vegetable or animal matter) to (cause to) decay or rot. Corpses decompose quickly in heat.

decomposition (diːkompəˈziʃən) noun

ˌdecomˈposer noun

something that causes a substance to rot or break up into simpler parts.

de·com·pose

v. descomponerse, corromperse; [food] podrirse, pudrirse.

References in classic literature ?

It is known that common salt and carbonate of lime left in a mass for some time together, partly decompose each other; though this does not happen with small quantities in solution.

View in context

"The first contains about twenty-five gallons of water, to which I add a few drops of sulphuric acid, so as to augment its capacity as a conductor of electricity, and then I decompose it by means of a powerful Buntzen battery.

View in context

There have been such men in the police--men naturally endowed with that faculty of mental analysis which can decompose a mystery, resolve it into its component parts, and find the clue at the bottom, no matter how remote from ordinary observation it may be.

View in context

He saw that the skin was beautiful, which appealed to his barbaric sense of ornamentation, and when it stiffened and later commenced to decompose because of his having no knowledge of how to cure or tan it was with sorrow and regret that he discarded it.

View in context

Noirtier,' the helpless old man, at the tender mercies of the weakest creature in the household, that is, his grandchild, Valentine; a dumb and frozen carcass, in fact, living painlessly on, that time may be given for his frame to decompose without his consciousness of its decay."

View in context

* Leaves or grass clippings decompose quickly and enrich the soil

Help garden plants thrive with mulch

The new bio-plastic will decompose in compost and can be used for cutlery, containers and cling-films.A team from the Slovak University of Technology (STU) has introduced a new degradable plastic made from cooking oil, the Sme daily wrote on June 2.

Slovak scientists invent a new plastic made from oil

Chang Ya-tzu, Director of the Yushan National Park Management Office, said that because hikers think food waste will decompose quickly, they have been littering the mountain with banana peels, orange rinds, zongzi strings and leaves, and corn cobs.

Officials appeal to hikers to not toss fruit peels on mountain trails

Did you know that orange peels take six months to decompose? If you don't compost, those remnants of your healthy snack pile up in a landfill.

The Ultimate Compost: Orange Peels!

Every year, Americans throw away more than 1 million tons of Styrofoam, a plastic material used to make cups and food containers that takes hundreds of years to decompose. Much of that Styrofoam ends up polluting the oceans and killing sea turtles and fish that eat it; as a result, more than 70 U.S.

Mealworms vs. Styrofoam

The snake, thought to be a corn snake, had started to decompose when it was found among debris.