loam

IPA/ləʊm/
KK[lˈom]IPA/ləʊm/

loam — noun

1. a dark, crumbly garden soil made when sand mixes with clay and rotted plant mate

1.名詞B2
釋義

a dark, crumbly garden soil made when sand mixes with clay and rotted plant material — it holds moisture well yet drains freely so plant roots stay healthy

例句

Leo dug compost into the clay until it became a rich loam for his vegetables.

collocation: rich loam / loam for [crops]

Élise bought bags of loam to fill the raised beds behind her house.

collocation: bags of loam / fill [beds] with loam

同義詞
  • soil

    a general term for the top layer of earth; loam is a specific high-quality type of soil

  • topsoil

    the uppermost layer of soil, which may or may not be loam; topsoil is defined by position, not composition

  • compost

    decayed organic matter added to soil to enrich it; compost is an ingredient of loam, not a synonym for loam itself

反義詞
  • clay

    heavy, dense soil that holds too much water and drains poorly — the opposite of free-draining loam

  • sand

    loose, gritty soil that drains too quickly and holds few nutrients — the opposite of nutrient-rich loam

用法筆記

Loam is an uncountable noun — you do not usually say 'loams' or 'a loam'. It describes a specific type of soil with an ideal balance of sand, clay, and organic matter, not just any rich soil.

常見錯誤

❌Add a loam to the flower bed before planting.
✅Add loam to the flower bed before planting.
💡Loam is uncountable; do not use 'a' before it.
❌The soil in the pot is very sandy — it is a good loam.
✅The soil in the pot is very sandy
💡it is not a loam at all.' — Loam must contain a balanced mix of sand, clay, and organic matter; sandy soil alone is not loam.