soil

CEFRB1

/sɔɪl/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The top layer of earth where plants grow.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.

Examples

  • Fertile soil is essential for growing healthy vegetables in the garden.

  • The air is soft, the soil moist.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [sɔɪ̯ɫ]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A mixture of mineral particles and organic material, used to support plant growth.

  2. Country or territory.

  3. That which soils or pollutes; a stain.

More examples

In context

  • Worms are sometimes beneficial to soil.

  • Light colours soil sooner than dark ones.

  • We bought a bag of soil for the houseplants.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

For good plant growth, the farmer enriches the fertile blank with compost.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English soile, soyle, sule (“ground, earth”), partly from Anglo-Norman soyl (“bottom, ground, pavement”), from Latin solium (“seat, chair; throne”), mistaken for Latin solum (“ground, foundation, earth, sole of the foot”); and partly from Old English sol (“mud, mire, wet sand”), from Proto-Germanic *sulą (“mud, spot”), from Proto-Indo-European *sūl- (“thick liquid”). Cognate with Middle Low German söle (“dirt, mud”), Middle Dutch sol (“dirt, filth”), Middle High German sol, söl (“dirt, mud, mire”), Danish søle (“mud, muck”). Compare French seuil (“level; threshold”) and sol (“soil, earth; ground”). See also sole, soal, solum. For the sole and soil relation, compare typologically...