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rot

[rot]
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verb (used without object), rot·ted, rot·ting.
  1. to undergo decomposition; decay.
  2. to deteriorate, disintegrate, fall, or become weak due to decay (often followed by away, from, off, etc.).
  3. to languish, as in confinement.
  4. to become morally corrupt or offensive.
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verb (used with object), rot·ted, rot·ting.
  1. to cause to rot: Dampness rots wood.
  2. to cause moral decay in; cause to become morally corrupt.
  3. to ret (flax, hemp, etc.).
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noun
  1. the process of rotting.
  2. the state of being rotten; decay; putrefaction: the rot of an old house.
  3. rotting or rotten matter: the rot and waste of a swamp.
  4. moral or social decay or corruption.
  5. Pathology. any disease characterized by decay.
  6. Plant Pathology.
    1. any of various forms of decay produced by fungi or bacteria.
    2. any disease so characterized.
  7. Veterinary Pathology. a bacterial infection of sheep and cattle characterized by decay of the hoofs, caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum in cattle and Bacteroides nodosus in sheep.
  8. nonsense.
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interjection
  1. (used to express disagreement, distaste, or disgust.)
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Origin of rot

before 900; (v.) Middle English rot(t)en, Old English rotian, cognate with Frisian rotsje, Dutch rotten; (noun) Middle English, perhaps < Old Norse rot (perhaps partly derivative of the v.); cf. ret, rotten)
Related formshalf-rot·ted, adjectiveun·rot·ted, adjective

Synonyms

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1. mold, molder, putrefy, spoil. 9. decomposition, mold.

Synonym study

1. See decay.

Antonyms

4, 6. purify.

ROT

  1. rule of thumb.
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rot.

  1. rotating.
  2. rotation.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

blightdecompositiondeteriorationdecayperishdisintegratewarpcrumblewitherspoilmolderstaindecomposelanguishputrefactionputrescencemoldcankerhogwashsilliness

Examples from the Web for rot

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He had too much insight, and too much exact information as well, to dismiss them as rot.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • Throw me on a dunghill, and let me rot there, to infect the air!'

  • What rot not to know their places, when they must know them!

    Ruggles of Red Gap

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • I'm really writing all this rot to get myself into the "twitter-twitter" mood.

    Changing Winds

    St. John G. Ervine

  • Why, the mill-stones wear away with rot more than with grinding corn.

    Fruitfulness

    Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for rot

rot1

verb rots, rotting or rotted
  1. to decay or cause to decay as a result of bacterial or fungal action
  2. (intr ; usually foll by off or away) to fall or crumble (off) or break (away), as from natural decay, corrosive action, or long use
  3. (intr) to become weak, debilitated, or depressed through inertia, confinement, etc; languishrotting in prison
  4. to become or cause to become morally corrupt or degenerate
  5. (tr) textiles another word for ret
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noun
  1. the process of rotting or the state of being rotten
  2. something decomposed, disintegrated, or degenerateRelated adjective: putrid
  3. short for dry rot
  4. pathol any putrefactive decomposition of tissues
  5. a condition in plants characterized by breakdown and decay of tissues, caused by bacteria, fungi, etc
  6. vet science a contagious fungal disease of the feet of sheep characterized by inflammation, swelling, a foul-smelling discharge, and lameness
  7. (also interjection) nonsense; rubbish
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Word Origin

Old English rotian (vb); related to Old Norse rotna . C13 (noun), from Scandinavian

rot2

abbreviation for
  1. rotation (of a mathematical function)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rot

v.

Old English rotian "to decay, putrefy," from Proto-Germanic *rutjan (cf. Old Saxon roton, Old Norse rotna, Old Frisian rotia, Middle Dutch roten, Dutch rotten, Old High German rozzen "to rot," German rößen "to steep flax"), from stem *rut-. Related: Rotted; rotting.

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n.

early 14c., from rot (v.) or of Scandinavian origin (cf. Icelandic rot, Swedish röta, Danish røde "decay, putrefaction"), from the root of the verb. Slang noun sense of "rubbish, trash" is from 1848.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
rot in Science

rot

[rŏt]
Verb
  1. To undergo decomposition, especially organic decomposition; decay.
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Noun
  1. Any of several plant diseases characterized by the breakdown of tissue and caused by various bacteria or fungi.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.