decomposition
/diːˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən/noun
decomposition is spelled D-E-C-O-M-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N: 13 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, decomposition means “A biological process through which organic material is reduced to e.g. compost” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of decomposition is decompositions.
How many letters and syllables are in decomposition?
| Letters | 13: D-E-C-O-M-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,629th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is decomposition?
Decomposition appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce decomposition?
- UK /diːˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən/
Decomposition has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-decomposition.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with decomposition?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as decomposition from its last stressed vowel (/ɪʃən/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of decomposition
- decompositions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does decomposition mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A biological process through which organic material is reduced to e.g. compost.
- 2
The act of taking something apart, e.g. for analysis.
- 3
The splitting (of e.g. a matrix, an atom, or a compound) into constituent parts.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Decomposition in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | décomposition , démontage |
| German | Zersetzung, Abbau, Verwesung , Zerlegung |
| Portuguese | decomposição |
| Spanish | descomposición |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does decomposition come from?
From de- + composition.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).