rot
to undergo decomposition; decay.
to deteriorate, disintegrate, fall, or become weak due to decay (often followed by away, from, off, etc.).
to languish, as in confinement.
to become morally corrupt or offensive.
to cause to rot: Dampness rots wood.
to cause moral decay in; cause to become morally corrupt.
to ret (flax, hemp, etc.).
the process of rotting.
the state of being rotten; decay; putrefaction: the rot of an old house.
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.
(used to express disagreement, distaste, or disgust.)
Origin of rot
1synonym study For rot
Other words for rot
Opposites for rot
Other words from rot
- half-rotted, adjective
- un·rot·ted, adjective
Other definitions for ROT (2 of 3)
rule of thumb.
Other definitions for rot. (3 of 3)
rotating.
rotation.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use rot in a sentence
When a pumpkin is sent to the landfill, it rots, emitting methane, an alarmingly potent greenhouse gas.
As Madoff rots in prison, another psychopathic grifter, Marc Dreier, lives in luxury.
Why should they not dawdle at their labor sitting upon the fence in endless colloquy while the harvest rots upon the stalk?
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockTo be dry sometimes, and sometimes wet, rots the timbers; the elm requires to be always wet; it's a wood that feeds upon water.
Toilers of the Sea | Victor HugoBut think not because one branch rots the whole tree will go to ruin.
Life of Schamyl | John Milton Mackie
Certain diseases of plants—blights, rots, and wilts—are of bacterial nature.
A Civic Biology | George William HunterWho keeps no guard upon himself is slack, / And rots to nothing at the next great thaw.
British Dictionary definitions for rot (1 of 2)
/ (rɒt) /
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
the process of rotting or the state of being rotten
something decomposed, disintegrated, or degenerate: Related adjective: putrid
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
Origin of rot
1British Dictionary definitions for rot (2 of 2)
rotation (of a mathematical function)
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
Scientific definitions for rot
[ rŏt ]
To undergo decomposition, especially organic decomposition; decay.
Any of several plant diseases characterized by the breakdown of tissue and caused by various bacteria or fungi.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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