top-dress

verb

ˈtäp-ˌdres 

variants or topdress or top dress

top-dressed or topdressed or top dressed; top-dressing or topdressing or top dressing; top-dresses or topdresses or top dresses

transitive verb

: to apply material to (something, such as a road) without working it in

The unit can also be used to spread crushed rock in layers up to 12 cm thick for top-dressing roads.

—The Mining Journal

especially : to scatter or apply amendments (such as compost) over (soil or land)

If you are a religious composter, you can just top-dress your beds and borders with the contents of your bin.

—Craig Summers Black

Topdressing the acidic soils with the organic matter raises the pH and allows for vegetation to return.

—Gretchen Leslie

Examples of top-dress in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Also, top-dress with a thin layer of compost to further improve the soil profile. —Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Oct. 2025

Replenish most garden beds once a year in fall by top-dressing them with 1 to 2 inches of compost, pulling it back a little from stems and trunks. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2025

Be sure to water the seeded, fertilized and top-dressed areas well and keep the seeds moist with daily watering. —Betty Cahill, The Denver Post, 1 Oct. 2024

In future years, top-dress the bed instead of disturbing it again. —Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1733, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for top-dress

• abbess
• abscess
• access
• address
• assess
• caress
• confess
• depress
• digress
• distress
• egress
• excess

Kids Definition

top-dress

verb

-ˌdres

: to apply material to (as land or a road) without working it in

especially : to scatter fertilizer over (land)