top·soil

[top-soil]
noun
1.
the fertile, upper part of the soil.
verb (used with object)
2.
to cover (land) with topsoil.

Origin:
1860–65; top1 + soil1

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
topsoil (ˈtɒpˌsɔɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  the surface layer of soil
 
vb
2.  to spread topsoil on (land)
3.  to remove the topsoil from (land)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Topsoil is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
to run away hurriedly; flee.
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
topsoil   (tŏp'soil')  Pronunciation Key 
The upper portion of a soil, usually dark colored and rich in organic material. It is more or less equivalent to the upper portion of an A horizon in an ABC soil.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

topsoil definition


The thin, rich layer of soil where most nutrients for plants are found.

Note: Most of the land-based biological activity of the Earth takes place here.
Note: The loss of topsoil through erosion is a major agricultural problem.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
When it rains, and especially when there are cyclones, landslides bring topsoil down to the sea.
As they die, plants and animals add organic matter to weathered parent material
  to help form subsoil and topsoil.
Quick renovation kept topsoil and runoff out of the creek that forms the
  house's rear property line.
The topsoil consists generally of organic matter and clays, both solid and
  fractured.
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