What does manure mean?
Manure is material, especially animal waste from livestock, used to enrich soil and supply nutrients to plants. Farmers may collect manure from barns or stables, allow it to decompose, and then spread it on fields and gardens. The related verb, usually transitive, means to apply manure to soil or plants. Although “dung” can be blunt or earthy, “manure” is the standard agricultural term and may also refer more broadly to organic material used as fertilizer. The word has a somewhat traditional, practical association with farming, but it remains common in horticulture, environmental discussions, and descriptions of agricultural methods. It can also carry a mildly humorous or unpleasant implication when people refer to ordinary animal waste, especially in comic or informal contexts. Its historical roots are connected with work done by hand, a reminder that manure was traditionally collected and spread manually.
Animal waste, especially livestock dung, used as fertilizer; more broadly, organic material used to enrich soil.
"She added manure to the soil before planting the seedlings."
The word is standard in agriculture and horticulture. It is often used specifically for animal dung but can have a broader agricultural sense.
To supply soil or plants with manure, or to spread manure over an area of land.
"They manure the fields every spring."
This is primarily an agricultural verb and is normally transitive.
The plural is used when referring to different kinds or quantities of manure, although it is less common than the singular.
"Different manures can have very different effects on soil quality."
The word manure ultimately points to hands: its roots connect it with manual work and with handling or spreading material by hand.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does manure come from?
Manure entered Middle English through Anglo-French, from forms ultimately based on Medieval Latin manua and Latin manus, meaning “hand.” The development also reflects the idea of manual work or handling, consistent with the traditional practice of spreading manure by hand. The word is related to forms such as maneuver and manual through its Latin root.
Related word forms
How manure is actually used
Manure is most often associated with animal dung but may also refer to other organic soil improvers. The verb is mainly agricultural and is less common in everyday speech.
Easily confused with manure
Manure is animal waste used as fertilizer, whereas a manner is the way in which something is done or behaves.