Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A dressing of manure laid on the surface of land: often used figuratively.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The act of applying a dressing of manure to the surface of land; also, manure so applied.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb Present participle of
top-dress .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a layer of fertilizer or manure not plowed in
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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It's not long, though before a shredding wind is tearing the top-dressing from the scene to reveal the charnel-house beneath.
Jasmin Vardimon Company: 7734 – review Luke Jennings 2010
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An occasional top-dressing of organic compost or natural fertilizer encourages abundant flowering.
Brigitte Mars: Delightful Day Lilies with Brigitte Mars 2010
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Add compostA quarter-inch of top-dressing compost applied once or twice a cuts the need for fertilizer and water.
Save time and money with our quick, easy lawn-care tips: Part I 2009
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Add compostA quarter-inch of top-dressing compost applied once or twice a cuts the need for fertilizer and water.
Save time and money with our quick, easy lawn-care tips: Part I 2009
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Tobacco farmers were also battling to obtain ammonium nitrate fertiliser for top-dressing purposes.
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These two years I have been paying money out of pocket for top-dressing, and taxes, and expenses of all kinds;
Two Poets 2007
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These two years I have been paying money out of pocket for top-dressing, and taxes, and expenses of all kinds;
Two Poets 2007
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Beneath that top-dressing of speed, modernity was old.
Swan Song 2004
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In order to accumulate the necessary amount of fine sea-sand, he ordered the steward to prepare for an elaborate system of top-dressing all the grounds.
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She accuses Shakespeare of suppressing female voices and says that he "buries popular culture under a thick top-dressing of exploitative sensationalism, unblushingly strip-mining both popular culture and every learned text he can lay his hands on for the sake of creating an arresting stage event."
Bothered and Bewildered Lurie, Alison 1997
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