decomposeverb [ I or T ]
uk/ˌdiː.kəmˈpəʊz/us/ˌdiː.kəmˈpoʊz/to decay, or to cause something to decay:
The body must have been decomposing for several weeks.
specialized chemistry to break, or to break something, into smaller parts:
Microbes decompose organic waste into a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Decaying and staying fresh
- best-before date
- biodegradable
- biodegrade
- compostable
- decay
- go off
- keep
- molder
- moulder
- perishable
- pull date
- putrefaction
- putrefy
- putrid
- rack
- rot
- seed
- shrivel
- spoil
- wormy
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Tearing and breaking into pieces
decomposition
noun [ U ] uk/ˌdiː.kɒm.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/us/ˌdiː.kɑːm.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/
The corpse was in an advanced stage of decomposition.