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rote

1
[ roht ]
/ roʊt /
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adjective
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.
noun
a fixed, habitual, or mechanical course of procedure; routine: the rote of daily living.
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Idioms about rote

    by rote, from memory, without thought of the meaning; in a mechanical way: to learn a language by rote.

Origin of rote

1
First recorded in 1300–150; Middle English; of obscure origin

Other definitions for rote (2 of 3)

rote2
[ roht ]
/ roʊt /

noun Music.
Also rota [roh-tuh], /ˈroʊ tə/, rotta [rot-uh], /ˈrɒt ə/, rotte [rot] /rɒt/ .

Origin of rote

2
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 crowd2

Other definitions for rote (3 of 3)

rote3
[ roht ]
/ roʊt /

noun
the sound of waves breaking on the shore.

Origin of rote

3
First recorded in 1600–10; of uncertain origin; perhaps from Old Norse rauta “to roar”
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rote in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rote (1 of 2)

rote1
/ (rəʊt) /

noun
a habitual or mechanical routine or procedure
by rote by repetition; by heart (often in the phrase learn by rote)

Word Origin for rote

C14: origin unknown

British Dictionary definitions for rote (2 of 2)

rote2
/ (rəʊt) /

noun
an ancient violin-like musical instrument; crwth

Word Origin for rote

C13: from Old French rote, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German rotta, Middle Dutch rotte
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with rote

rote

see by heart (rote).

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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