to decay
22
3.4
- verb
- /dɪˈkeɪ/
:
descomponerse
- Lives in the dirt and it's going to eat decaying matter.
- decaying organic matter
- decaying wood
- decaying leaves
Examples
-
As the fallen leaves began to decay, they created a rich layer of compost for the soil.
-
One group understood that any effort to rebuild the decaying town would simply forestall the inevitable.
Academic text (2011) -
What is worse than the smell of a decaying body?
-
You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else.
-
Then there was the food... All around you, when you and he argued, the food had decayed.
-
Don't plant this because this will just rot and decay in the soil.
-
"When something with a high organic content decays, it leaves the soil much darker.
Fiction book (2000) -
But weren't hundreds of trees decaying on our property before the tornado?
Academic text (2010) -
Roger could smell it now, a decaying corruption mingled with the coppery odor of blood.
Fiction book (2000) -
Stunned, I lay upon the decaying earth, fingers clutching rotting leaves, a cold rain drenching me.
Academic text (2008)
Synonyms
37
4.4
To change dead plants and animals into simpler parts with help from bacteria or fungi
30
1.6
To go bad and not be safe to eat
16
4.2
To slowly become weaker or fall apart because it is not cared for
2
4.4
To break down naturally into harmless parts when tiny living things like bacteria act on it
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
5
2.2
Damage to a tooth's hard surface caused by bacteria that often makes a hole
- Specialized
1
6.8
A decrease where an amount falls by the same part over equal times, becoming much smaller over time
- Specialized
A radioactive process where a large atom sends out an alpha particle and becomes another element
How Rotten
Surface Forms
Etymology
Decay comes from Latin parts de- 'down' and cadere 'to fall'. So to decay food or wood is like 'falling down' or breaking apart into smaller, rotten pieces.