rotted; rotting
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
: to cause to decompose or deteriorate with or as if with rot
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
Synonyms
Verb
- atrophy
- crumble
- decay
- decline
- degenerate
- descend
- deteriorate
- devolve
- ebb
- regress
- retrograde
- sink
- worsen
Noun
- applesauce [slang]
- balderdash
- baloney
- boloney
- beans
- bilge
- blah
- blah-blah
- blarney
- blather
- blatherskite
- blither
- bosh
- bull [slang]
- bunk
- bunkum
- buncombe
- claptrap
- codswallop [British]
- crapola [slang]
- crock
- drivel
- drool
- fiddle
- fiddle-faddle
- fiddlesticks
- flannel [British]
- flapdoodle
- folderol
- falderal
- folly
- foolishness
- fudge
- garbage
- guff
- hogwash
- hokeypokey
- hokum
- hoodoo
- hooey
- horsefeathers [slang]
- humbug
- humbuggery
- jazz
- malarkey
- malarky
- moonshine
- muck
- nerts [slang]
- nonsense
- nuts
- piffle
- poppycock
- punk
- rubbish
- senselessness
- silliness
- slush
- stupidity
- taradiddle
- tarradiddle
- tommyrot
- tosh
- trash
- trumpery
- twaddle
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
Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2024
And Oz, who told Eve that Sofia was to be pitied and avoided, helped cover it up so Carmine could keep killing women — leaving Sofia to rot in Arkham.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 27 Oct. 2024
Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2024
The material resists rust and rot, unlike metal or wood.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rot 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Better Homes & Gardens recommends getting rid of any food products that may have begun rotting, while also pouring a diluted mix of bleach and water down the drain in order to clear out any gnats hanging around there.
—Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2024
And Oz, who told Eve that Sofia was to be pitied and avoided, helped cover it up so Carmine could keep killing women — leaving Sofia to rot in Arkham.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 27 Oct. 2024
Noun
The Apprentice suggests that Cohn hastened whatever rot was already present in his protégé, but its early scenes portray the opposite—that Trump, at his core, was simply naive.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2024
The material resists rust and rot, unlike metal or wood.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rot
Dictionary Entries Near rot
Cite this Entry
“Rot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rot. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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 noun1
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 noun1
: the process of rotting : the state of being rotten
2
: any of several parasitic diseases especially of sheep marked by necrosis and wasting
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