Meanings
present singular third person decomposes · participle present decomposing · participle past decomposed · past decomposed
- transitiveTo separate or break down (something) into its components.
Various fungi can decompose wood.
1 more example
Our team decomposed this task into several subtasks that could be successfully distributed.
Synonyms: disintegrate, fragment · Antonyms: compose, assemble, recompose
- intransitiveTo rot, decay or putrefy.
Plastics can take centuries to decompose.
1 more example
Nor had the post mortem on Newson's body revealed any illness or other physical condition that might have prevented him from applying the brake, although after four days in the oven-like heat of the wreckage, the body was so badly decomposed as to make any reliable post mortem results unlikely.
2025 February 19, Mike Lewis, “Tragedy at Moorgate”, in RAIL, number 1029, page 59, about the Moorgate tube crashSynonyms: break down
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo separate or break down (something) into its components.
verbTo rot, decay or putrefy.
More synonyms by meaning
verbseparate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Frenchdécomposer
- Englishdecompose
Borrowed from Middle French décomposer. Equivalent to de- + compose.
More words from Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic جزّأ, حلّل
- جزّأ (jazzaʔa)to separate
- حلّل (ḥallala)to separate
- تَحَلَّلَ (taḥallala)to decay
- فسد (fasada)to decay
Bulgarian разглобявам, разлагам се
- разглобявам (razglobjavam)to separate
- разлагам се (razlagam se)to decay
Catalan descompondre, descompondre
- descompondreto separate
- descompondreto decay
Chinese Mandarin 分解, 腐爛 /腐烂
- 分解 (fēnjiě)to separate
- 腐爛 /腐烂 (fǔlàn)to decay
Czech rozložit
- rozložitto separate
Dutch ontbinden, ontbinden
- ontbindento separate
- ontbindento decay
- vergaanto decay
- verrottento decay
Estonian lagundama, kõdunema
- lagundamato separate
- kõdunemato decay
Finnish hajottaa, maatua
- hajottaato separate
- maatuato decay
- lahotato decay
- mädäntyäto decay
- mädätäto decay
French décomposer, se décomposer
- décomposerto separate
- se décomposerto decay
German zerlegen, zerteilen
- zerlegento separate
- zerteilento separate
- teilento separate
- desintegrierento separate
- dekomponierento separate
- verrottento decay
- verfallento decay
- verfaulento decay
- zerfallento decay
- sich zersetzento decay
Greek αποσυντίθεμαι, σαπίζω
- αποσυντίθεμαι (aposyntíthemai)to decay
- σαπίζω (sapízo)to decay
- λιώνω (lióno)to decay
Hawaiian hoʻohāpopopo
- hoʻohāpopopoto decay
Hindi विघटन, अपघटन
- विघटन (vighṭan)to separate
- अपघटन (apaghṭan)to decay
Hungarian lebomlik
- lebomlikto decay
Italian decomporre, decomporsi
- decomporreto separate
- decomporsito decay
Japanese ばらす, 分解する
- ばらす (barasu)to separate
- 分解する (bunkai suru)to separate
- 腐る (kusaru)to decay
- 分解する (bunkai suru)to decay
Māori whakapirau
- whakapirauto separate
Polish rozkładać, rozłożyć
- rozkładaćto separate
- rozłożyćto separate
- rozłożyć sięto decay
- rozkładać sięto decay
- rozpadać sięto decay
Portuguese decompor, descompor
- decomporto separate
- descomporto separate
- decomporto decay
Romanian descompune, descompune
- descompuneto separate
- descompuneto decay
Russian разлага́ть, разложи́ть
- разлага́ть (razlagátʹ)to separate
- разложи́ть (razložítʹ)to separate
- разбира́ть (razbirátʹ)to separate
- разобра́ть (razobrátʹ)to separate
- разлага́ться (razlagátʹsja)to decay
- разложи́ться (razložítʹsja)to decay
Spanish descomponer, descomponerse
- descomponerto separate
- descomponerseto decay
Tagalog maagnas
- maagnasto decay
Turkish sasımak
- sasımakto decay
Ukrainian розклада́ти, розкла́сти
- розклада́ти (rozkladáty)to separate
- розкла́сти (rozklásty)to separate
- розбирати (rozbyraty)to separate
- розібрати (rozibraty)to separate
- розпадатися (rozpadatysja)to decay
- розпастися (rozpastysja)to decay
- розклада́тися (rozkladátysja)to decay
- розкла́стися (rozklástysja)to decay
- розлагатися (rozlahatysja)to decay
- розложитися (rozložytysja)to decay
Vietnamese phân huỷ
- phân huỷto decay
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with decompose
Cite this entry
decompose. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decompose
“decompose.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decompose. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “decompose,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decompose.
Source: decompose on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.