decompose

[ dee-kuhm-pohz ]
See synonyms for: decomposedecomposeddecomposing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),de·com·posed, de·com·pos·ing.
  1. to separate or resolve into constituent parts or elements; disintegrate: The bacteria decomposed the milk into its solid and liquid elements.

verb (used without object),de·com·posed, de·com·pos·ing.
  1. to rot; putrefy: The egg began to decompose after a day in the sun.

Origin of decompose

1
1745–55; <French décomposer, equivalent to dé-dis-1 + composer to compose

synonym study For decompose

2. See decay.

Other words for decompose

Other words from decompose

  • de·com·pos·a·ble, adjective
  • de·com·pos·a·bil·i·ty, noun
  • un·de·com·pos·a·ble, adjective

Words Nearby decompose

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How to use decompose in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for decompose

decompose

/ (ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz) /


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

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

  1. to break up or separate into constituent parts

  2. (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

Derived forms of decompose

  • decomposable, adjective
  • decomposability, noun
  • decomposition (ˌdiːkɒmpəˈzɪʃən), noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012