soil
[noun]
Synonyms:
- earth, clay, dirt, dust, ground
- land, country
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[verb]
dirty, befoul, besmirch, defile, foul, pollute, spot, stain, sully, tarnish

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Antonyms: purify, clean
Contrasted words: brighten, cleanse, freshen, renew, purify
Related Words: becoom, benasty, nasty, bedaub, daub, smear, drabble, draggle, mess, spoil

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English Thesaurus: soil, earth, dirt, dust, mud, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. soil¹ W2 /sɔɪl/ noun
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Anglo-French; Origin: 'piece of ground', from Latin solium 'seat'; influenced by Latin solum 'ground, soil']

1. [uncountable and countable] the top layer of the earth in which plants grow Synonym : earth:
fertile soil (=good for growing crops)
The soil here is very poor (=not good for growing crops).
Roses grow well in a clay soil.

2. on British/French/foreign etc soil formal in Britain, France etc:
The crime was committed on American soil.

3. [uncountable] a place or situation where something can develop:
Eastern Europe provided fertile soil for political activists.

4. sb’s native soil literary your own country

5. the soil literary farming as a job or way of life:
They make their living from the soil.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. soil² verb [transitive]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: soiller, from soil 'pigsty', probably from Latin suile, from sus 'pig']

1. formal to make something dirty, especially with waste from your body

2. not soil your hands to not do something because you consider it too unpleasant or dishonest:
Keep your money – I wouldn’t soil my hands with it.
—soiled adjective:
soiled diapers

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

soil
noun
I. earth
ADJ. deep | shallow, thin | fertile, good, rich | barren, infertile, poor | light | heavy | loose | dry | damp, moist, waterlogged, wet | acid/acidic, alkaline | contaminated | top (also topsoil) | chalky, clay/clayey, peaty, sandy, stony | alluvial, desert, forest, garden, polar, volcanic
VERB + SOIL cultivate | dig, till, turn, work fields of newly turned soil The clayey soils of the region are difficult to work.
fertilize | drain | loosen
SOIL + NOUN conservation | degradation, erosion | conditions, fertility, quality declining soil fertility
type | surface | science, scientist
PREP. in (the) ~ The flowers do well in sandy soil.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

soil
II. part of a country
ADJ. native | foreign
VERB + SOIL set foot on She first set foot on French soil at a small Channel port.
PREP. on … ~ protests over the siting of nuclear weapons on British soil

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

soil

good/rich/fertile (=good for growing plants)
The fertile soil produces delicious wines.
poor (=not good for growing plants)
If the soil is poor, add manure or compost.
deep
The soil near the river is rich and deep.
thin (=not deep)
The thin soil is easily washed away.
moist/dry
Keep the soil moist.
The soil was dry after three weeks without rain.
light/sandy (=containing a lot of sand)
Some plants prefer sandy soils.
heavy/clay (=containing a lot of clay)
The soil was too heavy to grow decent carrots.
well-drained (=letting water pass through easily)
Plant the seedlings out in a warm, sunny position in well-drained soil.
acid/alkaline
Blueberries need acid soil.
garden soil
Try planting them in compost rather than garden soil.
work the soil (=prepare the soil to grow plants)
They worked the soil with hoes and forks.
till the soil (=prepare the soil to grow crops)
Their time is spent in constantly tilling the soil.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

soil the top layer of the earth that plants grow in:
Roses do best in well-drained, slightly acid soil.
earth the brown substance that the ground is made up of:
Thousands of tons of earth were moved to build the dam.
dirt American English loose dry earth:
a pile of loose dirt in the wheelbarrow
dust a dry powder made up of extremely small bits of earth or sand:
A cloud of dust billowed out behind the tractor.
mud wet soil that has become soft and sticky:
The dog came back covered in mud.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲