How to Use decompose in a Sentence

decompose

verb

• The compound will decompose in the presence of light.
• Bacteria and fungi help decompose organic matter.
• Leave the roots in the soil to decompose or take them out and compost them along with the leaves.
  — Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2021
• If the body is decomposed, gases may cause the lungs to float.
  — Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica, 28 Nov. 2023
• Acting as prisms do, the droplets decompose the rays of the sun into the colors of the, well, rainbow.
  — Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2022
• The ice preserved the man so well that his body, clothes and tools never decomposed.
  — Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 12 Apr. 2023
• Crews then bury it in sand and allow the decomposing sea grass to feed the sea oats and build up sand dunes.
  — Dennis Pillion | [e-mail], al, 17 Mar. 2023
• The 30-foot decomposing gray whale was likely washed ashore by the storms.
  — Laylan Connelly, Orange County Register, 8 Feb. 2024
• The cardboard will decompose into the soil and keep your path weed-free.
  — Halee Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Mar. 2024
• The body was at the bottom of a power pole and badly decomposed, Wade said.
  — Carol Robinson | [e-mail], al.com, 21 June 2019
• Corpses began to pile up and decompose in the warmer weather.
  — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2024
• Ron’s body had begun to decompose on their bed — a sight that still haunts Lisa.
  — Kimberly C. Moore, The Ledger, Lakeland, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Aug. 2021
• In Moab’s arid climate, trash takes decades to decompose—so pack it out.
  — Kelly Bastone, Outside Online, 25 Oct. 2022
• Wrapped in black plastic, clad in jeans and a T-shirt, the corpse was decomposed, and the police were trying to make an ID.
  — Seyward Darby, Longreads, 24 Jan. 2024
• Not even fruit cores or peels, which can attract wildlife and take years to decompose.
  — Alisha McDarris, Popular Science, 12 Oct. 2020
• One study found that the leaves decompose 25 percent slower if the tree was attacked by the bugs.
  — Ula Chrobak, Popular Science, 9 Mar. 2020
• And if a body has started to decompose, gases from that process can cause the lungs to float in water.
  — Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica, 7 Oct. 2023
• Her body, while no longer warm, hasn’t even decomposed.
  — Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023
• And some of the buildings have the smell of decomposing bodies coming from them.
  — Zoe Magee, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2023
• Toni’s body was decomposed, and his hands had been bound behind his back.
  — Carol Robinson | [e-mail], al, 14 Sep. 2023
• Usually, this takes the form of a bigger bin or heap in the ground where your refuse can decompose.
  — Jakob Schiller, Outside Online, 1 Mar. 2020
• Because of this small amount of plastic, the cup can take up to 20 years to fully decompose.
  — Spoon U, Teen Vogue, 20 July 2018
• One was too far decomposed for a cause of death to be determined.
  — Chris Ramirez, Journal Sentinel, 27 Sep. 2024
• Even if the middle of the lichen begins to break down and decompose, the outer edge will keep spreading out like a ring.
  — Ashley Strickland, CNN, 15 Feb. 2022
• From there, the leaves go into big (very big) piles that are left to decompose and break down with the elements.
  — Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 2 Dec. 2020
• With the soil moist and starting to decompose the manure, the liquid fish/seaweed emulsion will go right to the roots.
  — oregonlive, 4 Sep. 2021
• The odors of a decomposing body would still leak out, leaving a scent in the coffin for the next incumbent.
  — Mary Costello, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2023
• The pungent smell of a decomposing body, three bright orange yolks, the translucent skeleton of a small child, like the shell of a shrimp.
  — Sanaë Lemoine, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
• The bodies had already begun to decompose, suggesting that the people had died some time before they were discovered.
  — Sheldon H. Jacobson, Chicago Tribune, 20 Jan. 2025
• New information revealed that New York police officers were called to Karen Sackett's home nine times prior to the 47-year-old being found dead and decomposed in her home just days following her birthday.
  — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 19 Jan. 2025

Last Updated: 1 Mar 2025