How to Use soil in a Sentence

soil

1 of 2 verb
  • The nest material will be soiled and mites could be present.
    Taylor Piephoff, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
  • The carpets were horribly stained, the walls soiled with sickly black mold.
    Peter Hecht, Sacramento Bee, 21 Feb. 2024
  • Confined to a small space, with his hands tied, Anton soiled himself.
    Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023
  • If your comforter becomes soiled, pretreat the stain right away.
    Maria V. Charbonneaux, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 June 2023
  • For the house-training process, Miller says to use a smaller crate, so the dog can’t soil one side and lie comfortably on the other.
    Elizabeth Mayhew, Washington Post, 7 July 2020
  • They were not fed and had to soil their clothing because they weren’t let out to use the bathroom, the affidavit said.
    Jacob Beltran, San Antonio Express-News, 18 Mar. 2022
  • The sanitize sink had soiled dishes in it and there was no wash water made available in the wash sink.
    Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 5 Apr. 2023
  • When one side of the pad gets soiled, just flip it over and keep cleaning, as each side is absorbent, with grips that pick up and trap stubborn dirt.
    Tanya Edwards, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Apr. 2023
  • Lightweight and easy to use, the Simpli Magic was slightly heavier when soiled, but not enough to weigh it down.
    Cai Cramer, Peoplemag, 21 Sep. 2023
  • The dispenser is hidden with a fabric flap, which adds discretion and keeps it from getting sandy or soiled.
    Nancy Einhart, Travel + Leisure, 27 Apr. 2023
  • Protect your flag—make sure that it is not displayed or stored in a way that would allow the flag to be torn, soiled, or otherwise damaged.
    Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2023
  • There was the young girl in her lovely quinceañera gown who was carried from the car and set gently in place by her family so as not to soil her hem or high heels.
    Juliet Pierson, ExpressNews.com, 11 Aug. 2020
  • The plantings should also act as a deterrent to geese that land on the pond and, once on the shore and nearby lawns, have a tendency to soil them, Van Essen said.
    Mike Nolan, chicagotribune.com, 9 Sep. 2020
  • The passenger was traveling with a companion and both were unharmed, though their clothes were soiled with food and wine.
    Rachel Pannett, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2023
  • And don’t worry if the bag itself gets soiled — the durable poly ripstop material is washable.
    Talia Ergas, Travel + Leisure, 10 May 2023
  • The water in his bathroom sink was plentiful and warm, the dinnerware — bowls, spoons, cups, strainer (the man has an appetite) — suitably soiled.
    Peter Marks, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2023
  • The non-food contact surfaces that were soiled similarly were sides of all cooking equipment; the hood area above the cooking area; and the reach-in chest freezer gasket.
    David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2024
  • Jurors found Rodriguez not guilty on a count that alleged the boy was strapped to a bed and a count alleging he was thrown into cold showers for soiling himself.
    Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 10 Jan. 2024
  • However, if hands are visibly soiled, soap and warm water is required to remove spores from hands.
    Nick Blackmer, Verywell Health, 30 Mar. 2023
  • One plinth used to hold a statue of Lenin, typical for any Ukrainian city: tall, gray, ugly, constantly soiled by pigeons that left their white traces.
    Haiane Avakian, The Atlantic, 27 Sep. 2023
  • All of the goats were returned safely and without incident — except for a resident who complained that the goats had soiled their yard, Barak Aperton said.
    oregonlive, 24 Apr. 2023
  • Deputies noted his cell was soiled with feces, according to the autopsy report.
    David Hernandez march 2, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2023
  • People gathered every morning in towns across Spain to enjoy the executions and see if the condemned would cry or beg or soil themselves.
    Sebastian Junger, Time, 19 May 2021
  • Nevertheless, that the two men (and Messi in particular) have decided to soil their legacies is a sad coda to the Qatar World Cup.
    Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 10 May 2023
  • Hall arrived at 5:21 p.m. Tuesday in fourth place, outfitted in voluminous over-whites severely soiled around the knees after more than a week on the trail.
    Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Roadsides were heaped with all manner of garbage: rotting food, barbecue grills, bottles, ice chests, soiled diapers and float toys.
    Louis Sahagún, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2023
  • For example, observe how quickly so many people ditched face masks as if they were soiled underwear once they were no longer required.
    Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 4 May 2023
  • What to Consider While breathable, suede is not the most long-lasting material and can be easily soiled.
    Todd Plummer, Travel + Leisure, 13 June 2023
  • Do potted herbs come back every year? When planted, soiled, and maintained correctly, your indoor herbs may come back year after year as most of them are perennials.
    Deb Wiley, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Dec. 2023
  • Everything from banana peels and used coffee grounds to yard waste and soiled paper products like pizza boxes counts as organic waste.
    Amy Taxin, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2024
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soil

2 of 2 noun
  • Choose an area with moist, loamy soil where the vines can spread.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 9 Aug. 2023
  • Men in white hazmat suits pour lime over the brown soil to seal the graves.
    Sarah Sirgany, CNN, 18 Sep. 2023
  • She was raised in the racist waters and grew up in the same soil and was fed the same food of the Jim Crow South.
    Alex Jhamb Burns, Vogue, 3 May 2024
  • Next, sprinkle fertilizer over all the bare soil, to the edges of the canopy.
    Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2024
  • The seeds from the unearthed bottle were planted in beds of sterile soil.
    Kate Golembiewski, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
  • The high fields on either side of the road were splintered with old stalks and stems, the reddish soil lay pale in the severe light.
    Lan Samantha Chang, Harper's Magazine, 14 Aug. 2023
  • Most ferns do well in partial or full shade in rich, well-draining soil.
    Marissa Wu, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2024
  • The best soil pH for blueberries is between 4.8 and 5.2.
    Arricca Elin Sansone, Country Living, 16 May 2023
  • This newest work of his is rooted in soil he’s been tilling for some years.
    Christian Schneider, National Review, 27 July 2023
  • Use well-draining soil and a pot with drainage holes to avoid wet soil conditions.
    Steve Bender, Southern Living, 1 May 2024
  • Be certain those plants are adapted to your soils and your climate.
    Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Feb. 2024
  • Wa State controls nearly as much soil as the Netherlands.
    Patrick Winn, Rolling Stone, 13 Apr. 2024
  • In 1986, a major storm convulsed the region, damaging the dams and shearing soil from the ground.
    James Glanz, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Sep. 2023
  • While soil can be a substrate, many mushroom types grow where plants cannot: in wood, straw, coir and manure.
    Robert Johnson, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2023
  • Fill the shells with soil and a small plant or cutting, then nestle it in an egg cup filled with paper Easter grass.
    Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 26 Feb. 2024
  • Don't use potting soil or other lightweight soils, which can float to the surface.
    Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 21 Feb. 2024
  • The air is warm, the smell of bright Florida sunshine on moist soil still lingering.
    Jen Guyton, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024
  • The vineyard was planted just about three decades ago and has a high amount of clay soils, which aid in storing water for the vines when rain is scarce.
    Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 2 May 2024
  • Warm, wet soil encourages types of fungi that attack the plants’ roots.
    Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Aug. 2023
  • China is set to launch the first-ever mission, known as Chang'e 6, on Friday to collect rock and soil samples from the far side of the moon.
    Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 2 May 2024
  • With the landowner’s permission, researchers cut out a small block of soil and brought it back to their lab in the nearby city of Frauenfeld.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Oct. 2023
  • When the weather is hot and dry, soil loses moisture rapidly.
    Jeff Basara, Fortune, 26 May 2023
  • Pawpaws in the wild The pawpaw tree loves rich, moist soils in lowland woods, but the trees can move to the uplands if the area is heavily browsed by deer.
    Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Aug. 2023
  • Except for Shelby of course. Marigold: Adapting well in almost any sort of soil, this name will say great things about the girl who holds it.
    Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2024
  • Inside of them is soil from such locations as Alsace, Champagne, the Somme and Yser.
    John Kelly, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2023
  • The Dirt and Tomato candle was inspired by ripe heirloom tomatoes with earthy notes of wet soil.
    Kristin Limoges, Harper's BAZAAR, 12 July 2023
  • But the showers forced weeks of delays in the wheat harvest, and left some soil so soggy that no crop could be collected on it.
    Mitch Smith, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Aug. 2023
  • This was the second championship win for the Bay Area team, and its first on California soil.
    Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 7 Feb. 2024
  • Texas can build border fencing on Texas soil, obviously not in the waters of the Rio Grande.
    Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Feb. 2024
  • Experts found the frogs in two forest environments, both with clay and white-sand soil.
    Moira Ritter, Miami Herald, 9 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'soil.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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