rout

1 of 4

verb (1)

ˈrau̇t 

routed; routing; routs

transitive verb

1

a

: to defeat decisively or disastrously

… the discomfiture of seeing their party routed at the polls …

—A. N. Holcombe

b

: to put to precipitate flight

c

: to disorganize completely : demoralize

2

: to drive out : dispel

rout

2 of 4

verb (2)

ˈrau̇t 

routed; routing; routs

intransitive verb

1

: to poke around with the snout : root

pigs routing in the earth

2

: to search haphazardly

transitive verb

1

: to come up with : uncover

… scouts … routing out new talent.

—Carrie Donovan

2

a

: to force out as if by digging

—usually used with out

b

: to cause to emerge especially from bed

3

a

: to gouge out or make a furrow in (something, such as wood or metal)

b

archaic : to dig up with the snout

rout

3 of 4

verb (3)

ˈrōt  ˈrüt 

routed; routing; routs

intransitive verb

dialectal, chiefly British

: to low loudly : bellow

—used of cattle

route

4 of 4

verb (4)

routed; routing

transitive verb

1

: to send by a selected route : direct

was routed along the scenic shore road

2

: to divert in a specified direction

Synonyms of rout

Verb (1)

• overcome
• whip
• bury
• bomb
• master
• upset
• beat
• trounce
• annihilate
• flatten
• thrash
• blow away
• drub
• trim
• overwhelm
• throw
• smother
• paste
• dust
• skin
• top
• cream
• sweep
• clobber

Verb (4)

• guide
• steer
• lead

Examples of rout in a Sentence

Verb (2)

a great rout of rubberneckers had gathered around the scene of the accident

at first the protests were dismissed as nothing more than the idle doings of the restless rout

Verb (3)

as expected, the professional team had no trouble routing the amateurs

the nation's ground and air forces quickly routed the would-be invaders

Verb (4)

Traffic was routed around the accident.

When the doctor is out, his calls are routed to his answering service.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Angels rout the Dodgers 13-5 at Dodger Stadium to avoid a season Freeway Series sweep, chasing starter Emmet Sheehan after 1⅓ innings. —Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2026

According to the military, security forces launched an operation in the province’s district of Barkhan to rout out insurgents that Islamabad claims are backed by India. —ABC News, 13 May 2026

Verb

Instead of routing electricity through copper wires, photonic chips guide light through microscopic channels called waveguides etched into a wafer. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 June 2026

When thresholds are not met, the system may route the prescription to manual review. —Ethan Stone june 3, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

derivative of rout entry 1

Verb (2)

presumed to be variant of wroot, root entry 3 (though alteration of vowel is unexplained)

Verb (3)

Middle English (northern) & early Scots rowten, rowte, borrowed from Old Norse rauta "to roar," going back to Germanic *rautōjan-, probably derivative of a noun *raut- "bellowing, roaring," from an ablaut derivative of *reutan- (whence Old English rēotan "to weep, wail," Old High German riozan "to weep, mourn," Old Swedish riuta "to roar"), going back to Indo-European *Hreu̯d- "produce a loud sound, weep," whence, with varying ablaut grades, Latin rudere, rūdere "to make a loud noise, bellow, bray," Lithuanian raudóti "to sob, weep," Old Church Slavic rydati, Sanskrit rodiṣi "(you) weep"

Verb (4)

derivative of route entry 1

First Known Use

Verb (1)

circa 1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1c

Verb (2)

circa 1564, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Verb (3)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (4)

1832, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing rout

• put to rout
• the rout was on

Rhymes for rout

• bout
• clout
• doubt
• drought
• flout
• gout
• grout
• kraut
• lout
• out
• pout
• scout

Kids Definition

rout

1 of 3 verb

ˈrau̇t 

1

: to poke around with the snout : root entry 3

2

: to dig or cut a groove in (as wood or metal)

3

a

: to drive by force

routed out of their homes

b

: to cause to come out especially from bed

rout

2 of 3 noun

1

: a state of wild confusion and disorderly retreat

2

: a disastrous defeat

rout

3 of 3 verb

routed; routing

1

: to put to flight

2

: to defeat completely