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decompose

verb
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz/
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they decompose
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz/
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz/
he / she / it decomposes
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzɪz/
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzɪz/
past simple decomposed
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzd/
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzd/
past participle decomposed
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzd/
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzd/
-ing form decomposing
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzɪŋ/
🔊/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. [intransitive, transitive] to be destroyed gradually after death by natural processes 腐烂synonym decay, rot
    • a decomposing corpse正在腐烂的尸体
    • The garden was dank with decomposing vegetation.花园布满了腐烂的植被。
    • decompose something a decomposed body已经腐烂了的尸体
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryphrases
    • badly decomposed
    • partially decomposed
    • partly decomposed
    • …
    See full entry
  2. [intransitive, transitive] decompose (something) (into something) (chemistry化学) (of a chemical compound) to break down something into smaller and simpler parts; to break a substance down into smaller and simpler parts（使）分解
    • Water decomposes into oxygen and hydrogen.水分解成氧气和氢气。
    • As the waste materials decompose, they produce methane gas.废物腐烂时会产生沼气。🔊🔊
    3. Word Originmid 18th cent. (in the sense ‘separate into simpler constituents’): from French décomposer, from de- (expressing reversal) + composer.