dead matter

noun

, Printing.

1. type that has been set and used for printing or platemaking and is of no further use.
2. foul matter.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dead matter¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

The model for her interactive “Symbiotica” is mycelium, a fungus that plays a crucial role in decomposing dead matter, in the process yielding nitrogen that forms the bulk of Earth’s atmosphere.

From Washington Post

The cold, dead matter of the stars would decay away, leaving nothing but a smear of radiation that spreads equally throughout the universe.

From Literature

He was mastered by the sheer surging of life, the tidal wave of being, the perfect joy of each separate muscle, joint, and sinew in that it was everything that was not death, that it was aglow and rampant, expressing itself in movement, flying exultantly under the stars and over the face of dead matter that did not move.

From Literature

Among them are several yards of fungal filaments that convert dead matter to biomass, or attach to plant roots to boost their nutrient uptake; up to a billion bacteria that convert nitrogen gas into compounds that "feed" those plants and other organisms; a few dozen nematodes and a few thousand protozoa that keep bacterial populations in check, mineralize nutrients and protect plants from pathogens.

From Salon

It is, to say the least, a land of contradictions – one where the life above ground was built almost entirely from the dead matter below it.

From The Guardian