night soil

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.

This strategy became necessary after an errant tomato plant sprouted from a visitor's night soil back in the 1960s.

From Scientific American • Oct. 19, 2023

Often in exchange for a fee paid to each household, farmers collected what was called night soil at regular intervals to fashion into fertile compost.

From Salon • Dec. 21, 2021

The problems of chamber pots — also known as “jerries, night soil, commodes, slop jars, close stools and thunder mugs” — also contributed to this noisome mix.

From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2016

Companies such as Clivus Multrum supply not only the toilet and the composter, but also a service of emptying it, just like the night soil men did 200 years ago.

From The Guardian • Jul. 15, 2014

For days the family either walked to the fields or used the night soil buckets.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston