rote

¹ American  

[roht] / roʊt /

adjective

1. proceeding mechanically and repetitiously; being mechanical and repetitious in nature; routine; habitual.

   rote performance;

   rote implementation;

   His behavior became more rote with every passing year.

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noun

1. a fixed, habitual, or mechanical course of procedure; routine.

   the rote of daily living.

idioms

1. by rote, from memory, without thought of the meaning; in a mechanical way.

   to learn a language by rote.

rote ² American  

[roht] / roʊt /

Also rota

noun

Music.

1. crowd.

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rote ³ American  

[roht] / roʊt /

noun

1. the sound of waves breaking on the shore.

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rote ¹ British  

/ rəʊt /

noun

1. a habitual or mechanical routine or procedure

2. by repetition; by heart (often in the phrase learn by rote )

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rote ² British  

/ rəʊt /

noun

1. an ancient violin-like musical instrument; crwth

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rote More Idioms  

1. see by heart (rote).

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Etymology

Origin of rote¹

First recorded in 1300–150; Middle English; of obscure origin

Origin of rote²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English rote, rotte, route, a kind of harp, from Old French rote, route “stringed instrument,” from unattested Frankish hrota (compare Old High German hruozza ); akin to crowd ²

Origin of rote³

First recorded in 1600–10; of uncertain origin; perhaps from Old Norse rauta “to roar”

Example Sentences

AI relieves humans not of creativity but of drudgery—the rote, time-consuming tasks that have always consumed more human energy than inspiration ever did.

From The Wall Street Journal

Don’t be embarrassed by talk of gratitude this weekend, or think it rote or corny.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sophia says she thinks AI will reduce demand for more rote forms of writing but that it won’t be able to tell the kind of human stories she wants to write.

From The Wall Street Journal

When everyone is amazingly amazing at being amazing, however, the experience is so rote that you’ll be rooting for something to go hideously wrong.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I love that he’s talking German with me. Having someone speak in German on the team feels good,” said Tillman, who quickly added what’s become the rote reaction to Son.

From Los Angeles Times