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decompose Definition

de·com·pose (dē′kəm pōz′)

transitive verb, intransitive verb -·posed′, -·pos′·ing

  1. to break up or separate into basic components or parts
  2. to rot

Etymology: Fr décomposer: see de- & compose

decompose Related Forms

de′·com·pos′·able adjective de′·com·po·si′·tion (dē′käm pə zis̸h′ən) noun

decompose Synonyms

decompose

v.

decay, rot, crumble, break up; see decay, disintegrate 1. See syn. study at decay.

decompose Usage Examples

Object

  • corpse: His decomposed corpse was found in a car at Langford on Monday 21 August.
  • carcass: The decomposing carcass drifted to Greenodd Sands where it was photographed by Andy Harmer on 13 October 2001.
  • snail: As she was doing so a decomposed snail floated out with the ginger beer.
  • corps: The hideously decomposed corpses, moldering away in the crammed seats of the carriage, supplied the answer instantly.
  • granite: The area was covered with decomposed granite making it a natural site for a small airport.
  • flesh: Since the zombies usually have decomposed flesh, hitting something with a rotten foot would surely cause it to fall apart.

Preposition: at

temperature: Compounds which decompose at lower temperatures may not give satisfactory EI spectra.

Preposition: over

time: Any organic material in the natural environment will decompose over time.

Preposition: into

  • set: This implies, for example, that the set of primes cannot be decomposed into three such sets.
  • part: A general field of fluid motion can be decomposed locally into three generic parts, related to vorticity, divergence and deformation.

Modifying Another Word

  • badly: Report by Andy Horton Old Fort 12 February 2001 Two badly decomposed Dolphins were washed up on Shoreham Beach, Sussex.
  • partially: Coal is formed from partially decomposed plants that lived millions of years ago you can read more about how coal is formed.
  • slowly: They said the Inga leaves would decompose far too slowly to feed the crops: the system was bound to fail.
  • rapidly: Particularly in the summer birds rapidly decompose beyond the point where PM examinations are possible.
  • partly: Peat, in the simplest terms, is an accumulation of partly decomposed plant material.
  • readily: Decomposition of metal hydroxides: The Group 1 Alkali Metal hydroxides do not readily decompose on heating ' up to red heat ' .

Infinitive complement

  • produce: In turn each of these segments can be further decomposed to produce a hierarchical structure terminating with the individual media assets to be presented.
  • form: This is the ( chemical ) process by which a compound in its molten state is decomposed to form its elements.
  • give: However, the melting temperature of the nitrate is above the decomposition temperature of the nitrite, which will decompose to give NO 2.

Preposition: in

soil: Guidance During fumigation with methyl bromide some of the gas will decompose in the soil leading to residues of inorganic bromides.