rot
verb (used without object)
to undergo decomposition; decay.
rot
1 American
[rot]
/ rɒt /
verb (used without object)
-
rots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rotted,
past participle, past
-
rotting
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
rots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rotted,
past participle, past
-
rotting
present participle
-
to cause to rot.
Dampness rots wood.
-
to cause moral decay in; cause to become morally corrupt.
- Antonyms:
- purify
-
to ret (flax, hemp, etc.).
noun
-
rots
plural
-
the process of rotting.
-
the state of being rotten; decay; putrefaction.
the rot of an old house.
- Synonyms:
- mold, decomposition
-
rotting or rotten matter.
the rot and waste of a swamp.
-
moral or social decay or corruption.
-
Pathology. any disease characterized by decay.
-
Plant Pathology.
-
any of various forms of decay produced by fungi or bacteria.
-
any disease so characterized.
-
-
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.
interjection
ROT
2
American
rot.
3
American
abbreviation
-
rotating.
-
rotation.
rot
1
British
abbreviation
rot
2
British
/ rɒt /
verb
-
to decay or cause to decay as a result of bacterial or fungal action
-
(intr; usually foll by off or away) to fall or crumble (off) or break (away), as from natural decay, corrosive action, or long use
-
(intr) to become weak, debilitated, or depressed through inertia, confinement, etc; languish
rotting in prison
-
to become or cause to become morally corrupt or degenerate
-
(tr) textiles another word for ret
noun
-
the process of rotting or the state of being rotten
-
something decomposed, disintegrated, or degenerate
-
short for dry rot
-
pathol any putrefactive decomposition of tissues
-
a condition in plants characterized by breakdown and decay of tissues, caused by bacteria, fungi, etc
-
vet science a contagious fungal disease of the feet of sheep characterized by inflammation, swelling, a foul-smelling discharge, and lameness
-
(also interjection) nonsense; rubbish
rot
Scientific
/ rŏt /
Synonym Usage
See decay.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
rotsimple
-
rotssimple
-
have rottedperfect
-
has rottedperfect
-
am rottingprogressive
-
are rottingprogressive
-
is rottingprogressive
-
have been rottingperfect progressive
-
has been rottingperfect progressive
Past
-
rottedsimple
-
had rottedperfect
-
was rottingprogressive
-
were rottingprogressive
-
had been rottingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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)
Explanation
To rot is to decompose, or break down into smaller parts. When old food at the back of your refrigerator rots, you should throw it away. Sometimes you can tell when something is beginning to rot because it smells bad. But the process that occurs when things rot is a natural one that you can see all around you as you walk through the woods or along the beach. Living organisms have to rot after they die, to make room for more organisms.
Vocabulary lists containing rot
"When Cultures Meet"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Banneker" by Rita Dove
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
See Examples For:
Perhaps if Short weren’t associated with a detective noir masterpiece, she would never have become a useful metaphor for the corruption and rot associated with Hollywood and Los Angeles, or an eternal enigma.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
Spoiled vegetables rot in corners, while food counters show signs of pest infestation.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
“Hope must be in the strategic leader’s DNA—without it, the whole enterprise would rot from the top down.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
"Turn off that TV, it'll rot your brain!" has been repeated in households for generations.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
We have removed the rot, we are strengthening the foundations.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
The cROT device indeed demonstrates a remarkable enhancement in throughput when contrasted with traditional ROT platforms.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 11, 2023
Ms. Nurse, who founded BK ROT, a youth composting service and green jobs project, was nonetheless surprised when Ms. Adams named her to head the sanitation committee.
From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2022
She points to the success of existing organizations, like BK ROT, a bicycle-powered micro-hauler and composting service staffed by young people of color.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2021
Another such small business is GreenFeen OrganiX, a worker-owned cooperative founded by lifelong Bronx resident Dior St. Hillaire, who is also a co-director of BK ROT.
From Washington Post
DRY ROT, a fungoid disease in timber which occasions the destruction of its fibres, and reduces it eventually to a mass of dry dust.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 7 "Drama" to "Dublin" by Various
“It speaks to that brain rot. One minute you’re looking at this thing and the next you’re looking at this thing. You want it to be dynamic.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2025
“Leather will wet rot. Collagen fibers in vellum will tighten and shrink.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 7, 2023
“It’s in the basement where people just rot. There is no medication,” he said.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 19, 2022
"If the rains come too early at the end of the longer rainy season our beans rot. But it's harder now to tell what will happen."
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2017
“Chokecherry may deny its scandalous past, but you can’t paint over rot. It’s still there, TokNation, and it will always come out.”
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
"I figure it'll probably disintegrate and probably nobody will ever hear it, that's what bothers me... if it rots in there before they open it."
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
She believes some online video content in particular "rots children's brains", so they are not allowed access to that.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
The saying goes that the fish rots from the head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2025
The great Viserys rots into shreds of his former self.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2025
The Bundimun oozes a secretion which rots away the very foundations of the dwelling in which it is found.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
The building was storing millions of pounds of fresh and frozen food such as meat, bread and seafood that rotted after the blaze, prompting complaints, citations and lawsuits over foul odors and pests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
"It's unripe, but it's already rotted before we've even started," he explains.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Telephone poles covered in fundraising pleas for families whose breadwinners either rotted in faraway detention center or were sent back to their home countries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
Her contorted expression is rotted by anguish, as though life’s unbearable burdens have laid waste to their latest victim.
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2025
There were witches in the woods, they stole beauty from swans and then rotted from the inside.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
Even when life offers her a grain of solace or happiness, the morsel is already rotting from the inside out.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
A rotting carpet of familiar fan-shaped leaves soon surrounded the tree, a sight so alarming Jung and her neighbours formed a crew of amateur detectives to solve the mystery: what was ailing their hardy ginkgo?
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
The company, Lineage Logistics, told The Times it didn’t cause the fire and went above and beyond to put it out and speed the cleanup of truckloads of rotting food that attracted rats and flies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Getting the rotting food off racks towering six stories high required hundreds of workers in protective suits to dislodge the moldering food.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
It's like something dead and rotting mixed with lots of dirty stuff and….
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
