Definition of "decomposition" []

• The act or result of decomposing; disintegration. (noun)
• Chemistry Separation into constituents by chemical reaction. (noun)
• Biology Breakdown or decay of organic materials. (noun)

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.

• "_inseparable in such bodies as these_, namely, the passing of a current, and decomposition; and this is as true of the cells in the battery as of the water cell; for no voltaic battery has as yet been constructed in which the chemical action is only that of combination: _decomposition is always included_, and is, I believe, an essential chemical part."
• "_decomposition_ as a mere co-relative, _i. e._ as decomposition relatively to the body decomposed, but composition _actually_ and in respect of the substances, _into_ which it was decomposed."
• "Protein decomposition, which is apt to cause heavy financial losses, ceases almost altogether."