# compost

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkɒmpɒst/ · frequency rank #22,041

## Definitions
1. The decayed remains of organic matter that has rotted into a natural fertilizer.
2. A medium in which one can cultivate plants.
3. A mixture; a compound.

## Etymology
From Middle English compost, from Old Northern French compost (“a mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for fertilizing land, also a condiment”), from Latin compositus (“composed”), from componere. Doublet of compote, which was taken from modern French, composite, and kompot.

## Easily confused with
- **comfort** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/comfort-vs-compost)
- **compact** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/compact-vs-compost)
- **compass** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/compass-vs-compost)
- **compose** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/compose-vs-compost)
- **composed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/composed-vs-compost)
- **composer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/composer-vs-compost)
- **composite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/composite-vs-compost)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ccompost`, `cmopost`, `commpost`, `comopst`, `composst`, `compostt`, `compots`, `comppost`, `compsot`, `copmost`, `ocmpost`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/compost