Definition of "topsoil" [top•soil]

• The upper part of the soil. (noun)
• To remove the surface layer of soil from (land). (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "As the air eagerly escaped from its chamber, it liberated two hundred and fifty cubic meters of topsoil from the grip of the artificial gravity."
• "And save what little topsoil we have - by planting more trees - before all the topsoil is washed away and we're left with nothing but sand."
• "South American sugar cane ethanol also relies on slash and burn agriculture on thin topsoil creating ever increasing dead zones in the rain forest."