rout

1 failure to win a contest <the championship game was a humiliating rout for the team that had been favored to win> Synonyms beating, drubbing, licking, loss, lump, overthrow, plastering, rout, shellacking, trimming, trouncing, whippingRelated Words collapse, debacle (also débâcle), failure, fiasco, fizzle, flop, nonsuccess, setback, upset; lurch, shutout, washout, whitewashNear Antonyms accomplishment, achievement; blowout, cakewalk, landslide, romp, runaway, sweep, walkaway, walkoverAntonyms success, triumph, victory, win

2 the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement <in the mad rout from the school shooter, it was every person for himself> Synonyms break, breakout, bunk [British], flight, getaway, lam, rout, slipRelated Words jailbreak; deliverance, liberation, redemption, release, rescue, salvation; close call, close shave, near missNear Antonyms captivity, confinement, immurement, imprisonment, incarceration, internment; custody, detention, hold, holding, retention; endangerment, hazard, imperilment, jeopardy, peril, risk, trouble

1 to defeat by a large margin <as expected, the professional team had no trouble routing the amateurs> Synonyms annihilate, blow away, bomb, bury, clobber, cream, drub, dust, flatten, paste, whip, shellac, skin, skunk, smoke [slang], smother, snow under, thrash, trim, tromp, trounce, wallop, wax [slang], whomp, whop (or whap), whupRelated Words sweep, upset; beat, best, conquer, dispatch, hurdle, lick, master, overbear, overcome, overmatch, prevail (over), subdue, surmount, take, throw, triumph (over), win (against), worst; crush, knock off, knock over, overpower, overthrow, overwhelm, subjugate, upend, vanquish; ace (out), better, eclipse, exceed, outdistance, outdo, outfight, outshine, outstrip, overtop, surpass, top, transcend; edge (out), nose out, pip [British]; cap, excel, flourish, score, succeed; break, destroy, do in, finish, sink, slaughter

2 to drive or force out <the nation's ground and air forces quickly routed the would-be invaders> Synonyms banish, boot (out), bounce, cast out, chase, dismiss, drum (out), expel, extrude, kick out, oust, out, eject, run off, throw out, turf (out) [chiefly British], turn outRelated Words deforce, deport, displace, dispossess, evict, exile, expatriate, ostracize, read out, shut out; ax (or axe), can, cashier, defenestrate, discharge, fire, muster out, pink-slip, release, remove, retire, sack, terminateNear Antonyms accept, admit, receive, take, take in; welcome; entertain, harbor, house, lodge, shelter