decomposed

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzd/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(dē′kəm pōzd)

From the verb decompose: (⇒ conjugate)
decomposed is: Click the infinitive to see all available inflections
v past
v past p

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
de•com•posed  (dē′kəm pōzd),USA pronunciation adj. 
  1. Microbiologyhaving undergone decomposition.
  2. Birds(of a feather) having the barbs separate, hanging loosely, and not interconnected by barbules.
  • decompose + -ed2 1840–50

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
de•com•pose /ˌdikəmˈpoʊz/USA pronunciation   v. [no obj], -posed, -pos•ing. 
  1. to separate into the essential parts:Salt decomposes into sodium and chlorine.
  2. Microbiologyto rot; become decayed:the smell of decomposing vegetation.
de•com•po•si•tion /ˌdikɑmpəˈzɪʃən/USA pronunciation  n. [uncountable]decomposition of leaves.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
de•com•pose  (dē′kəm pōz),USA pronunciation v., -posed, -pos•ing. 
v.t. 
  1. to separate or resolve into constituent parts or elements;
    disintegrate:The bacteria decomposed the milk into its solid and liquid elements.

v.i. 
  1. Microbiologyto rot;
    putrefy:The egg began to decompose after a day in the sun.
  • French décomposer, equivalent. to dé- dis-1 + composer to compose
  • 1745–55
de′com•posa•ble, adj. 
de′com•pos′a•bili•ty, n. 
    1. distill, fractionate, analyze. 2. See decay. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
decompose /ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz/ vb
  1. to break down (organic matter) or (of organic matter) to be broken down physically and chemically by bacterial or fungal action; rot
  2. to break down or cause to break down into simpler chemical compounds
  3. to break up or separate into constituent parts
decomposition /ˌdiːkɒmpəˈzɪʃən/ n
'decomposed' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

Forum discussions with the word(s) "decomposed" in the title:


Look up "decomposed" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "decomposed" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!