Soil | Mean of soil in English Dictionary

/ˈsojəl/

• Noun
• the top layer of earth in which plants grow
1. This kind of plant grows well in moist soil.
2. The soil in this area is very fertile/sandy.
3. Cleaning up contaminated soil [=soil that has harmful chemicals in it] can be very costly.
4. Certain plants cannot live in poorly drained soils.
• the land of a particular country
1. They have returned to their native soil. [=the place they are originally from]
2. I had never set foot on Japanese/Italian soil before. [=I had never been to Japan/Italy before]
• a place where something begins or develops
1. Poor neighborhoods can be fertile soil for crime. [=there is often a lot of crime in poor neighborhoods]

• farming as a way of making a living
1. Her ancestors had felt a closeness to the soil.
• Verb
• to make (something) dirty
1. I soiled my blouse/shirt at the cocktail party.
2. The ink soiled his hands.
3. Her clothes were soiled and very wet.
4. soiled linens/underwear/diapers
5. He refused to soil his hands [=do anything dishonest or wrong] for her.
• to become dirty
1. This fabric soils easily.