Standard Lemma guide

topsoil

noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: T AA1 P S OY2 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The upper layer of soil, typically most fertile and in which it is the easiest to start new plants.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: agriculture, business, horticulture, lifestyle

Examples

  • Little grew on the farm, after the floods from the hurricane washed away the topsoil.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: callow

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To remove the topsoil from.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the layer of soil on the surface

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: surface soil

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: soil, dirt

History

Etymology

From top + soil.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 表土 (biǎotǔ) — upper layer of soil
  • Czech: ornice — upper layer of soil
  • Finnish: pintamaa — upper layer of soil
  • French: sol superficiel — upper layer of soil
  • German: Mutterboden — upper layer of soil
  • German: Muttererde — upper layer of soil
  • Hawaiian: lepo uhi — upper layer of soil
  • Hungarian: termőtalajréteg — upper layer of soil
  • Hungarian: termőtalaj — upper layer of soil
  • Hungarian: termőföld — upper layer of soil
  • Hungarian: talajréteg — upper layer of soil
  • Ingrian: pintamaa — upper layer of soil
  • Ingrian: leipämaa — upper layer of soil
  • Italian: soprassuolo — upper layer of soil
  • Korean: 겉흙 (geotheuk) — upper layer of soil
  • Korean: 표토 (pyoto) — upper layer of soil
  • Macedonian: жи́вица (žívica) — upper layer of soil
  • Māori: paraumu — upper layer of soil
  • Norwegian Bokmål: matjord — upper layer of soil
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: matjord — upper layer of soil
  • Polish: poziom próchniczy — upper layer of soil
  • Romansh: terratsch — upper layer of soil
  • Romansh: terra naira — upper layer of soil
  • Russian: верхний слой почвы (verxnij sloj počvy) — upper layer of soil
  • Russian: пахотный слой (paxotnyj sloj) — upper layer of soil
  • Spanish: suelo superficial — upper layer of soil
  • Swedish: matjord — upper layer of soil
  • Tagalog: dayagsulip — upper layer of soil
  • Welsh: uwchbridd — upper layer of soil