topsoil

[ top-soil ]

noun

1. the fertile, upper part of the soil.

verb (used with object)

1. to cover (land) with topsoil.

topsoil

/ ˈtɒpˌsɔɪl /

noun

1. the surface layer of soil

verb

1. to spread topsoil on (land)
2. to remove the topsoil from (land)

topsoil

/ tŏp′soil′ /

1. The upper portion of a soil, usually dark colored and rich in organic material. It is more or less equivalent to the upper portion of an A horizon in an ABC soil.

topsoil

1. The thin, rich layer of soil where most nutrients for plants are found.

Notes

The loss of topsoil through erosion is a major agricultural problem.

Most of the land-based biological activity of the Earth takes place here.

Word History and Origins

Origin of topsoil¹

First recorded in 1860–65; top ¹ + soil ¹

Example Sentences

A local group found the fungus that causes valley fever in samples of topsoil from the five parcels surrounding the towns where the solar panels will be built.

From Los Angeles Times

He said that you can either dig on the seafloor, or “underneath equatorial rainforests. And that means that to get access to it, you need to push out the Indigenous people living there. You need to remove the rainforest, dig away the topsoil to get to the nickel bearing ore. And that’s just the beginning of the impacts, because then there is waste.”

From Los Angeles Times

Measuring soil organic carbon, for example, requires digging a core to the root zone, about 30 centimeters deep to obtain a topsoil profile and until the core hits bedrock to obtain an entire soil profile.

From Science Daily

Some, like the fescues, can do well in shade, but Lyon recommends prepping the soil by tilling the topsoil 4 to 6 inches deep and adding a mixture of compost and a drainage medium like decomposed granite or sand to encourage good drainage, especially if the ground previously had standing water during heavy rains.

From Los Angeles Times

The topsoil, comprised of the top 10 to 12 centimetres of the soil, acts as a kind of "death zone" in which fresh grass cannot survive for long.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• clay
• coast
• dirt
• dust
• gravel
• land
• mud
• sand
• shore
• surface
• terrain
• turf