Ellissa Bain
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To describe an argument as "moot" is to say that there's no point in discussing it further. In other words, a moot argument is one that has no practical or useful significance and is fit only for theoretical consideration, as in a classroom. It's no surprise, then, that the roots of moot are entwined with academia. The adjective moot followed a few centuries behind the noun moot, which comes from mōt, an Old English word meaning "assembly." Originally, moot referred to an Anglo-Saxon deliberative assembly that met primarily for the administration of justice. By the 16th century, functioning judicial moots had diminished, the only remnant being moot courts, academic mock courts in which law students could try hypothetical cases for practice. The earliest use of moot as an adjective was as a synonym of debatable, but because the cases students tried in moot courts had no bearing on the real world, the word gained the additional sense—used especially in North America—of "deprived of practical significance."
Examples of moot in a Sentence
Allan M. Brandt, The Cigarette Century, 2007
And the question of delight shouldn't be moot.
—Edward Hoagland, Harper's, June 2007
… a genuine Atlantic political culture might be the result—rendering the fears expressed in this article largely moot.
—John O'Sullivan, National Review, 6 Dec. 1999
The court ruled that the issue is now moot because the people involved in the dispute have died.
I think they were wrong, but the point is moot. Their decision has been made and it can't be changed now.
Verb
And it was they, not the British, who slapped down any suggestion of democratic reform when it was quietly mooted by British colonial officers in the 1950s.
—Ian Buruma, New Republic, 24 Sept. 2001
… he looked for an easy way out. A spot in the stateside Guard would have suited him fine; in the event, he dodged and weaved until a low draft number came along to moot his problem.
—Hendrik Hertzberg, New Yorker, 16 & 23 Oct. 2000
And then the word comes of Ted's inoperable pancreatic cancer, and death moots the long conflict.
—Richard Rhodes, New York Times Book Review, 24 Dec. 2000
conservatives had shouted down the proposal when it was first mooted
the issue of whether a person's nature or upbringing is more important continues to be mooted by experts and laymen alike
State House News Service, Boston Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
While the limit of eight designated to returns might be a moot point, Waller would be considered the sixth in that regard.
—Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2025
Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2025
This week saw Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos descending on the Eternal City to announce the streaming giant’s plans to help revive a storied cinema, as well as a host of international TV executives mooting the possibility of an upturn that could pull the global drama biz out of its recent doldrums.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for moot
Cite this Entry
“Moot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moot. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
moot
1 of 2 verbmoot
2 of 2 adjectiveLegal Definition
moot
1 of 2 transitive verbS. R. Sontagmoot
2 of 2 adjectiveAdjective
(of a trial or hearing) hypothetical, staged for practice, from moot hypothetical case for law students, argument, deliberative assembly, from Old English mōt assembly, meeting
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