DECOMPOSE
Dictionary entry overview: What does decompose mean?
• DECOMPOSE (verb)
The verb DECOMPOSE has 3 senses:
1. separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
2. lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current
3. break down
Familiarity information: DECOMPOSE used as a verb is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
• DECOMPOSE (verb)
Meaning:
Separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Synonyms:
decompose; break down; break up
Hypernyms (to "decompose" is one way to...):
separate (divide into components or constituents)
Domain category:
chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "decompose"):
digest (soften or disintegrate by means of chemical action, heat, or moisture)
dissociate (to undergo a reversible or temporary breakdown of a molecule into simpler molecules or atoms)
crack (reduce (petroleum) to a simpler compound by cracking)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Meaning:
Lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Synonyms:
decay; decompose; disintegrate
Context example:
the particles disintegrated during the nuclear fission process
Hypernyms (to "decompose" is one way to...):
change integrity (change in physical make-up)
Domain category:
natural philosophy; physical science; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Meaning:
Break down
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Synonyms:
rot; moulder; molder; decompose
Context example:
The bodies decomposed in the heat
Hypernyms (to "decompose" is one way to...):
decay (undergo decay or decomposition)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "decompose"):
biodegrade (break down naturally through the action of biological agents)
hang (suspend (meat) in order to get a gamey taste)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Something ----s something
