Meaning & use
humic
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalchemistry
Relating to humus, the dark organic material in soil formed when plants and animals decay.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: humic acid, not 'the acid is humic'.
Patterns
- humic acid
- humic substances
- humic content
Humic acid helps soil hold on to nutrients.
Peat soils are rich in humic material.
The farmer added a humic supplement to improve the sandy field.
Common combinations
- humic acid
- The label says the fertilizer contains humic acid.
- humic substances
- Humic substances give rich soil its dark color.
- humic matter
- Humic matter slowly builds up under forests.
- humic soil
- Humic soil holds moisture well.
- humic layer
- The humic layer sits just below the fallen leaves.
Synonyms and how they differ
- organic
- Organic is far broader and covers anything from living things; humic is limited to decayed plant matter in soil.
- peaty
- Peaty describes a specific kind of soil full of partly decayed plants, whereas humic describes the dark material more generally.
Opposites
Word family
- humus noun
- the dark organic part of soil from decayed plants
- humification noun
- the process by which plant matter turns into humus
- humate noun
- a salt of humic acid used in fertilizer
Commonly confused: humic or humid? humic or hummus?
humic vs humid
Humid describes damp, moist air, while humic describes organic material in soil; they differ by one letter.
humic vs hummus
Hummus is the chickpea dip you eat; humus is the soil material that gives humic its name.
Practice
A gardener adds ___ acid to the sandy soil because it is made from decayed plant matter.
Choose one answer.
'Humic acid' is the standard term; 'humid' describes damp air and 'humus' is a noun, so it cannot sit before 'acid' here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “humic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.