Rot

//ɹɒt// name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The process of becoming rotten; putrefaction. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    Initialism of record of transmission. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
  3. 3
    unacceptable behavior (especially ludicrously false statements) wordnet
  4. 4
    Decaying matter. countable, uncountable

    "When a turkey vulture detects the scent of rot, it circles down, tracing the plume of chemicals to its source."

  5. 5
    (biology) the process of decay caused by bacterial or fungal action wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    Any of several diseases in which breakdown of tissue occurs. countable, in-compounds, uncountable

    "His cattle must of rot and murrain die."

  2. 7
    a state of decay usually accompanied by an offensive odor wordnet
  3. 8
    Verbal nonsense. uncountable

    "You're talking rot! I don't believe a word."

Verb
  1. 1
    To suffer decomposition due to biological action, especially by fungi or bacteria. intransitive

    "The apple left in the cupboard all that time had started to rot."

  2. 2
    become physically weaker wordnet
  3. 3
    To decline in function or utility. intransitive

    "Your brain will rot if you spend so much time on the computer, Tony!"

  4. 4
    break down wordnet
  5. 5
    To (cause to) deteriorate in any way, as in morals; to corrupt. ambitransitive
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    To make putrid; to cause to be wholly or partially decomposed by natural processes. transitive

    "to rot vegetable fiber"

  2. 7
    To spend a long period of time (in an unpleasant place or state). figuratively, intransitive

    "to rot in prison"

  3. 8
    To expose, as flax, to a process of maceration, etc., for the purpose of separating the fiber; to ret. transitive
  4. 9
    To talk nonsense. dated, slang

    "“Did they hang you well?” said Porson. “Don’t rot,” said Mr Watkins; “I don’t like it.”"

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Abbreviation of refugee Olympics team (country code for the team). abbreviation, alt-of

Synonyms

All synonyms
bunkdecomposedecompositionmolderputrefactionputrefy

Example

More examples

"Put the meat in the refrigerator, or it will rot."

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English roten, rotten, from Old English rotian (“to rot, become corrupted, ulcerate, putrefy”), from Proto-West Germanic *rotēn, from Proto-Germanic *rutāną (“to rot”).

Related phrases

Alabama rotArmillaria root rotBarcoo rotItalian brain rotJava black rotTexas root rotURL rotbed rotbit rotbitter rotblack rotbrain rot

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.