rot

1 of 2

verb

rotted; rotting

intransitive verb

1
a
: to undergo decomposition from the action of bacteria or fungi
b
: to become unsound or weak (as from use or chemical action)
2
a
: to go to ruin : deteriorate
b
: to become morally corrupt : degenerate

transitive verb

: to cause to decompose or deteriorate with or as if with rot

rot

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: the process of rotting : the state of being rotten : decay
b
: something rotten or rotting
2
a
archaic : a wasting putrescent disease
b
: any of several parasitic diseases especially of sheep marked by necrosis and wasting
c
: plant disease marked by breakdown of tissues and caused especially by fungi or bacteria
3
: nonsense
often used interjectionally
Choose the Right Synonym for rot

decay, decompose, rot, putrefy, spoil mean to undergo destructive dissolution.

decay implies a slow change from a state of soundness or perfection.

a decaying mansion

decompose stresses a breaking down by chemical change and when applied to organic matter a corruption.

the strong odor of decomposing vegetation

rot is a close synonym of decompose and often connotes foulness.

fruit was left to rot in warehouses

putrefy implies the rotting of animal matter and offensiveness to sight and smell.

corpses putrefying on the battlefield

spoil applies chiefly to the decomposition of foods.

keep the ham from spoiling

Examples of rot in a Sentence

Verb The wood had rotted away. The apples were left to rot. the smell of rotting garbage Eating too much candy can rot your teeth. Noun They found a lot of rot in the house's roof. That's a lot of rot!
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
At some point lost to history, an unknown party carted a pile of these poles on to Kingman Island and left them there to rot. Justin Wm. Moyer, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 On land, sargassum begins to rot and produces smelly hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, which can irritate eyes, ears, and noses. The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024 Leaf spot is less serious and causes gray-brown or red spots on the leaves that will eventually rot. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 21 Feb. 2024 Depletion of those aquifers has exposed the wood to air in some cases, causing foundations to rot. Mira Rojanasakul, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024 Investigators believe the animal was shot around the weekend of Jan. 13 and left to rot. Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 12 Feb. 2024 The perpetrators were primarily shooting antlerless deer from the road and leaving them to rot. Sage Marshall, Field & Stream, 7 Feb. 2024 In the evening, the water may puddle and cause the roots to rot, Stewart added. Madeline Holcombe, CNN, 4 Feb. 2024 The wood paneling had begun to rot from the humidity. Sanaë Lemoine, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
Noun
Robotaxi company Cruise is axing a full quarter of its workforce, eliminating 900 jobs as the financial rot at the General Motors subsidiary threatens to spread. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 15 Dec. 2023 Particles of the Upside Down started to fall from the sky in the real world, turning the grass and flowers into black-and-white rot. Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 19 Feb. 2024 All empires preceding the American Empire expired from moral rot. Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 9 Feb. 2024 The recent rot of dysfunction formed on a bed of groupthink, political bias, and self-dealing. Michael McCaul, National Review, 7 Feb. 2024 But overall, there has been so little oversight of the hospice sector that the rot has spread largely unchecked. The Editors, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024 How To Select a Cucumber Look for green cucumbers that are firm and free of soft spots, which indicate rot. Susan Hall Mahon, Southern Living, 2 Feb. 2024 But nobody should doubt, either, that the intellectual rot is pervasive and won’t stop spreading until universities return to the idea that their central purpose is to identify and nurture and liberate the best minds, not to engineer social utopias. Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2024 Embodying nepotistic rot is Derek Danforth (played convincingly by Josh Hutcherson), the degenerate son of a prominent politician. Giancarlo Sopo, National Review, 13 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English roten, from Old English rotian; akin to Old High German rōzzēn to rot

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of rot was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near rot

Cite this Entry

“Rot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rot. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

rot

1 of 2 verb
rotted; rotting
1
a
: to decay due to the action of fungi or bacteria
b
: to become unsafe or weak (as from use or chemical action)
2
: to go to ruin
3
: to cause to rot

rot

2 of 2 noun
1
a
: the process of rotting : the state of being rotten
b
: something rotten or rotting
2
a
: a disease of plants or animals marked by the decay of tissue
b
: an area of decayed tissue
pruned the rot from the tree trunk
3
: nonsense sense 1
don't talk rot

Medical Definition

rot

1 of 2 intransitive verb
rotted; rotting
: to undergo decomposition from the action of bacteria or fungi

rot

2 of 2 noun
1
: the process of rotting : the state of being rotten
2
: any of several parasitic diseases especially of sheep marked by necrosis and wasting

More from Merriam-Webster on rot

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!