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# decompose

verb (decompose, decomposes, decomposed, decomposing)

«decompose» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To rot or break down slowly, as dead plants and animals do, with help from bacteria, fungi and small creatures. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/decompose/#m1)
2. (science) To break a substance into simpler parts or chemicals. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/decompose/#m2)
3. (maths) To break a number or shape into smaller parts to make it easier to work with, such as 47 = 40 + 7. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/decompose/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science lessons, decomposers like worms, fungi and bacteria make dead things decompose into soil; compost heaps work this way. In maths, children «decompose numbers» (partition them) to add, subtract and multiply: 36 × 4 = 30 × 4 + 6 × 4. Phrases: «decompose into», «fully decomposed», «decompose a number».

### Examples

- Leaves decompose and turn into soil. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/decompose/#x1)
- Fungi help dead logs decompose. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/decompose/#x2)
- A banana peel decomposes faster than a plastic bag. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/decompose/#x3)
- Decompose 58 into 50 and 8 to add it more easily. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/decompose/#x4)
- Plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/decompose/#x5)
- Heat can decompose some chemicals into gases. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/decompose/#x6)
- We watched apples decompose in jars for our experiment. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/decompose/#x7)

### Note

Noun: «decomposition»; living things that do this are «decomposers». Trap: «biodegradable» things decompose naturally, but not all «green-looking» packaging does. In maths, decomposing a number does not change its value: 47 is still 47 whether written 40 + 7 or 30 + 17.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «decompose» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/decompose/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«decompose» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/decompose.html) on Mova free.