Rutch
verb, slang ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 To slide; to scooch; to shuffle. US, archaic, informal
"Then Ismail set the pace yet faster, and they became the last two of a procession of turbaned men who tramped along a winding tunnel into a great mountain's womb. The sound of slippers clicking and rutching on the rock floor swelled and died and swelled again ..."
- 2 To squirm; to move around frequently. Dutch, English, Pennsylvania, especially
"Sitting on hard wooden chairs in school didn't help one bit, and I had an especially difficult time sitting still in class. One of my teachers was quite versed in Pennsylvania Dutch, and kept saying, “Quit your rutching!""
Example
More examples"Then Ismail set the pace yet faster, and they became the last two of a procession of turbaned men who tramped along a winding tunnel into a great mountain's womb. The sound of slippers clicking and rutching on the rock floor swelled and died and swelled again ..."
Etymology
Partly from German rutschen (“slide”), partly (especially in Pennsylvania Dutch English) from Pennsylvania German rutsche (“slide; move around frequently”), and partly (especially in Amish use) from Plautdietsch rutschen (“slide”). Compare also West Country English ruge (“slippery”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.