rote

¹

[ roht ]

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.

noun

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

   the rote of daily living.

rote

²

[ roht ]

noun

, Music.

1. crowd ².

rote

³

[ roht ]

noun

1. the sound of waves breaking on the shore.

rote

¹

/ rəʊt /

noun

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

rote

²

/ rəʊt /

noun

1. an ancient violin-like musical instrument; crwth

Word History and Origins

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of rote¹

C14: origin unknown

Origin of rote²

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

   to learn a language by rote.

More idioms and phrases containing rote

see by heart (rote) .

Example Sentences

Across industries, 5G is expected to take over rote work, allowing employees to commit their time to creative tasks like analysis and strategic thinking.

From Ozy

Ultimately, if we took our cues from Biles and decided to withdraw every time we felt pressure or stress, that would just be another example of rote idolization of athletes.

From Outside Online

Perhaps rote information, such as knowing 5 times 5 is 25 or knowing to stop at a red light, relies on these powerful inputs that efficiently drive information through the brain.

From Science News

Children in San Diego wouldn’t just be doing rote academic catch-up, she said.

From Voice of San Diego

Now we’re stuck with villain backstories that are little more than rote exercises in psychological depth, stories that sap our imagination rather than igniting it.

From Time

The stories of discovery are so rote, though, that we forget that they took incredibly hard work.

From The Daily Beast

Using their skill with visual processing, ASDs can learn by rote how to negotiate the neuro-typical world.

From The Daily Beast

So let me just add that true Tiger Cubs aren't satisfied with rote learning.

From The Daily Beast

The shift is most evident in our schools, where critical thinking has replaced rote learning as the central goal of education.

From The Daily Beast

In the workshop or lab, results are determined by experimentation and creativity, not rote learning.

From The Daily Beast

When, however, you learn by rote you know the task as you learned it, and not in the reverse way.

From Project Gutenberg

Another way of learning such a series by rote, is to limit the extent of the repetitions.

From Project Gutenberg

Learning a series of words by heart by thinking of the Relations between them is wholly unlike learning it by rote.

From Project Gutenberg

The opposite of these two methods of rote learning is my method, which injects an active process between each pair of words.

From Project Gutenberg

This Series is usually learned by endless repetition, as a succession of sounds to the ear, or sight to the eye, by mere rote.

From Project Gutenberg