rut

¹ American  

[ruht] / rʌt /

noun

1. 

   a furrow or track in the ground, especially one made by the passage of a vehicle or vehicles.

2. any furrow, groove, etc.

3. a fixed or established mode of procedure or course of life, usually dull or unpromising.

   to fall into a rut.

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verb (used with object)

rutted, rutting

1. to make a rut or ruts in; furrow.

rut ² American  

[ruht] / rʌt /

noun

1. the periodically recurring sexual excitement of the deer, goat, sheep, etc.

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verb (used without object)

rutted, rutting

1. to be in the condition of rut.

rut ¹ British  

/ rʌt /

noun

1. a groove or furrow in a soft road, caused by wheels

2. any deep mark, hole, or groove

3. a narrow or predictable way of life, set of attitudes, etc; dreary or undeviating routine (esp in the phrase in a rut )

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verb

1. (tr) to make a rut or ruts in

rut ² British  

/ rʌt /

noun

1. a recurrent period of sexual excitement and reproductive activity in certain male ruminants, such as the deer, that corresponds to the period of oestrus in females

2. another name for oestrus

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verb

1. (intr) (of male ruminants) to be in a period of sexual excitement and activity

rut Idioms  

1. see in a rut.

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Etymology

Origin of rut¹

First recorded in 1570–80; perhaps variant of route

Origin of rut²

1375–1425; late Middle English rutte < Middle French rut, ruit < Late Latin rugītus a roaring, equivalent to Latin rugī ( re ) to roar + -tus suffix of v. action

Explanation

A rut is a groove in the earth, like an indent caused by wheels. It's also a boring routine that can be hard to break. If you’re stuck in a rut, you’ve been doing the same old thing for too long. If you see a groove in the ground, especially one caused by a bike or car, that's a rut. If a rut is deep enough, you could get stuck in it, which may be why the word has another meaning. If your life has become boring, stale, and monotonous, you're in a rut. Someone who works the same job for decades may feel like they're in a rut and need to make a change.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rut rutted rutting

They could pull themselves the rest of the way out of a recent rut with a statement series against their competition for a No. 1 seed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Payments company Stripe and private-equity firm Advent International recently made a joint takeover bid for PayPal, which has been in a yearslong rut.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

An old-school tip for finding new music: If Spotify’s algorithm makes you feel stuck in a musical rut, there’s an easy way out.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

Well, for starters, they realised when they were in a rut and acted on it.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

The young dog became frantic now: he whined, as he stretched at the edge of the rut; then nudged and pushed with his nose, doing everything in his power to rouse the huddled, unresponsive body.

From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford

We drove his body back along the rutted mountain pathways to the coastal city of Split.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Dipak Magar, 39, is proud of the small house he has built on a bend of a rutted road.

From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026

Costa Rica’s Pacuare Lodge is so remote that visitors must arrive via white-water raft, by air or on a rutted 4WD-only road.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025

When your name is associated with that much cloaked money in that sort of rutted environment, what else is involved?

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2024

I turned and watched the Land Cruiser pulling up slowly and unevenly in the rutted dirt.

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor

Compared with conventional asphalt, PMA is more flexible and better able to resist cracking, rutting, and water damage, making it well suited to Hawaii's tropical climate.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026

Deer are currently in rutting season, when males attempt to establish their dominance against other males as part of their reproductive strategy.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 7, 2023

“Many people specifically go to Kincaid Park in the fall to photograph and view rutting behavior.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 31, 2023

Extreme heat can soften pavements, leading to more cracks, buckling and rutting or surface depressions.

From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2022

At this time of year, the Forest should be echoing with the bellows of rutting red deer, and the clash of their antlers as they fought for females.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver