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.
• If the body is decomposed, gases may cause the lungs to float.
  — Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica, 28 Nov. 2023
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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 electrolyte in the battery might decompose and release gas.
  — Chris Smith, BGR, 28 Sep. 2022
• The group of nine walked past decomposing bodies, slowly taking in the full scale of the calamity.
  — Matina Stevis-Gridneff, New York Times, 16 June 2023
• Fruit flies feed on the liquid of decomposing food and any sticky substances.
  — Emma Phelps, Southern Living, 24 Sep. 2023
• With nothing left to decompose, the risk of further bloating is gone.
  — Eleanor Cummins, Popular Mechanics, 22 Feb. 2023
• Some of them do not always break down and decompose quickly.
  — Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 21 Mar. 2023
• Remove the container or, if it's balled and wrapped in burlap, cut off the burlap and wire because some burlap won't decompose.
  — Arricca Elin Sansone, House Beautiful, 25 July 2023
• The shredded leaves decompose very quickly and by the spring are no longer visible.
  — Susan Brownstein, cleveland, 27 Sep. 2022
• By late June, there will be millions of pounds of cicadas piling up at the base of trees, decomposing.
  — Celia Ford, WIRED, 28 Mar. 2024
• Then, the dead fish drift downstream to shallow water and decompose.
  — Trisha Ahmed, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2023
• Grodman said in the video that the trunk of the saguaro, which remains upright, will likely stand for the next few years, while the arms will likely decompose of the course of about five years.
  — From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 26 Aug. 2022
• The stump grindings can be piled up in the back corner of the yard to decompose over a couple of years, leaving you with topsoil to reuse in your garden.
  — Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2023
• Some of the seagulls were buried in the sand headfirst; others were left to decompose in dramatic fashion.
  — Gabrielle Bluestone, Curbed, 10 Oct. 2023
• There’s less disruption and the roots will decompose and provide food for the microorganisms.
  — oregonlive, 7 Sep. 2023
• Signs in the house indicated the body decomposed for a time inside before being moved to the backyard.
  — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 25 Aug. 2023
• Specialists are still searching for their first bits of brain from the Neanderthals, since these tissues tend to be the first part of the body to decompose after death.
  — Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 1 Mar. 2023
• As a result, the remains of dead sharks decompose in most cases, with teeth as an exception.
  — Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 21 Jan. 2024

Last Updated: 3 May 2024