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

If you’re in a cooking rut: It can feel absolutely exhausting to try to craft beautiful meals from scratch every night.

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026

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

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

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

I had memorized every pothole and rut in that driveway, and they were all precious to me.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

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

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

In the meantime, to get to work at the market, Rahesh must walk for two hours along a rutted dirt road between barren mountains before he can catch a ride.

From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 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

And while it won’t get you to the deepest reaches of nature like a Wrangler, its ample ground clearance and all-wheel drive make easy work of rutted trails, snowy pavement and remote fire roads.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2024

A breeze tussled through the trees, sending poplar leaves spinning like golden coins down onto the rutted dirt road.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

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

Bulls can be aggressive during the rutting season from mid-July through August.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 18, 2023

“Jeremy Hunt is collaborative, and I don’t think you have two rutting deer locking horns. They sink or swim together.”

From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2022

They have a hoarse, distant bellow like a rutting stag and make their way high above the howl and whistle of the smaller shells.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque