noun

soil

soyl

noun

The loose top layer of earth in which plants grow, made up of minerals, organic matter, and nutrients.

"Good soil is essential for a healthy vegetable garden."

"Heavy rain had washed a lot of topsoil down the hillside."

A country or territory, especially in phrases about national land.

"It was the first time enemy troops had set foot on home soil."

verb

To make dirty; to stain.

"Try not to soil the tablecloth with those markers."

"His reputation was soiled by the scandal."

How to Use Soil

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither the earth that plants grow in, a country's land, or (as a verb) to dirty or stain something.

Common pairings

fertile soil native soil soil the carpet

Word Forms

soiled past tense, soiled past tense, soils plural, soils plural, soils plural, soils singular, soils singular

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Good _____ is essential for a healthy vegetable garden.

Etymology

From Middle English soile, blending an Anglo-Norman word for "ground" (ultimately confused with Latin solum, "ground, earth") with an Old English word for "mud" or "wet sand."

Synonyms

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dirt earth

Related Words

ground earth dirt

Rhymes for soil

oil FOIL boil toil coil spoil recoil turmoil tinfoil topsoil

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