soil
the state of being covered with unclean things
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,609 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 6,413 times across 155,139 chapters — 0.003% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- the state of being covered with unclean things also: dirt, filth, grime, stain, grease, grunge
- the part of the earth's surface consisting of humus and disintegrated rock also: dirt
- material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use) also: land, ground the land had never been plowedgood agricultural soil
- the geographical area under the jurisdiction of a sovereign state also: territory American troops were stationed on Japanese soil
verb
- make soiled, filthy, or dirty also: dirty, begrime, grime, colly, bemire don't soil your clothes when you play outside!
soil in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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Blood like yours would soil the executioner's axe.
An Egyptian Princess — Volume 07 · Georg Ebers · Chapter 2
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Nobody believes in our gravel soil and our south aspect.
Man and Wife · Wilkie Collins · Chapter 1
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Not only did they fit the footprints exactly, but they were stained with soil exactly like that in the court.
The Abandoned Room · Wadsworth Camp · Chapter 1
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Or had the intuition that Scaife was other than what he seemed furnished the fertile soil into which the seed fell?
The Hill: A Romance of Friendship · Horace Annesley Vachell · Chapter 1
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The rich soil, in which the gravediggers could no longer delve without turning up some human remains, was possessed of wondrous fertility.
The Fortune of the Rougons · Émile Zola · Chapter 1