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decompose

[dee-kuhm-pohz] / ˌdi kəmˈpoʊz /




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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We can also decompose bond yields into the expected inflation rate plus the real yield above inflation, measured by TIPS, or Treasury inflation-protected securities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Khanal also called for forensic testing kits to identify corpses and freezer units to store them, saying bodies that have been in water could decompose at a faster rate.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

As these long lasting carbon stores decompose, they release additional CO2 into the atmosphere.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

The pair previously told of how Harriet's body had been allowed to decompose so badly by NUH, it had to be triple-bagged for her funeral.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

He could taste it on his tongue—dank, rotten, moldy—all the way to his stomach, as if he’d swallowed something that had begun to decompose.

From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner

“As organic waste decomposes in landfills, it accounts for 41% of the state’s methane emissions, a greenhouse gas with 84 times the power to heat the climate as carbon dioxide,” according to CalRecycle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

The whale has gained in size in recent days because of a build-up of gas as the carcass decomposes, and some islanders are worried it may explode.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

Fires that start below the surface often begin spontaneously, as organic matter decomposes and creates heat, fueled by oxygen that sneaks in through the cracks.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

The idea was to reduce the amount of food that ends up in landfills, where it emits greenhouse gases as it decomposes, a major factor contributing to climate change.

From Salon ● Jan. 22, 2025

“It’s just a case of remembering that oxalic acid on heating decomposes into carbon dioxide, water, and good old carbon monoxide. College chem, you know.”

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

"The smell is like decaying wood being burned – that's the characteristic smell of peat. And that peat contains decomposed wood and organic material from many different sources."

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

The fires are difficult to extinguish because many occurred on peatlands, a wetland ecosystem with layers of partially decomposed organic materials that become flammable when dry.

From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026

Unlike in 1986, when many of the artifacts, especially the elephant tusks, decomposed after being exposed to the open air, Ran improvised a new system for the dig.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

People hurried to identify victims before they decomposed, in an era before refrigeration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

“You have an instant fatality that leaves no marks on the skeletal remains. Unfortunately, the soft tissues that would show us what happened have decomposed in the past hundred years.”

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

For months, teams searched through rubble and debris, in temperatures reaching the mid-40s Celsius, surrounded by decomposing remains.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

Yet beneath the surface, billions of microbes are hard at work decomposing leaves, wood, and other organic matter.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 2, 2026

The decomposing waste generates methane, which scientists say is responsible for at least a quarter of global warming.

From Barron's ● May 13, 2026

Three years ago, Nelligan and his colleagues, working from the backyard of a neighbor of Susan Flores, used soil vapor sampling to detect volatile organic compounds they say may be associated with decomposing human remains.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

Liquid has seeped from the decomposing vegetables and pooled on the floor.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario




Vocabulary lists containing decompose


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