molder
1 Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of molder1
1525–35; obsolete mold to crumble (v. use of mold 3 ) + -er 6
Origin of molder2
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at mold 1, -er 1
Explanation
To molder is to disintegrate or rot. If you store your books in the damp basement of your uncle's house, they're sure to molder. Things molder when they're neglected or left to fall apart or become rotten. A ripe peach left on the counter will eventually molder, and even a person might molder, abandoned to grow old all alone in a remote rural house. You can see the word mold when you look at the verb molder, and in fact that's its origin, specifically the old verb form of mold, which is related to the Old Norse mygla, "grow moldy."
Vocabulary lists containing molder
The Things They Carried
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The City of Ember
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Mythology
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hedda wears bullet-like strands of pearls that choke her neck and a jade-colored gown that seems to molder into a festering, jealous shade of green.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025
When scrapped, they molder in junkyards, emitting chlorofluorocarbons, and dripping oils and acids that are a hazard to groundwater.
From New York Times • Aug. 31, 2022
Yes, you really can go listen to the Converge albums left to molder on those Oakley sunglasses for who knows how long.
From The Verge • Jun. 24, 2022
Parents are fretting over their now-home-schooled children’s habits of carelessly snacking throughout the day or leaving half a precious banana to molder on the counter, uneaten.
From Slate • Apr. 1, 2020
I maintain that nurture, rather than nature, is the primary molder of personality, but my father possessed a proud rebelliousness, a stubborn sense of fairness, that I recognize in myself.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
