rot

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /rɑt/ UK /rɒt/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like lot /l/ vs /r/ Sounds like rut /ʌ/ vs /ɑ/

Meanings

1

verb
to decay or decompose; the process or state of decay; nonsense

The fallen apples began to rot in the autumn damp.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to decay or decompose; the... decay decompose putrefy molder spoil fester nonsense

Opposites

flourish thrive grow

Word family

Derived forms rottenrottingrottedrotter

Related forms rottenret

Etymology

From Old English rotian ('to decay, putrefy'), from Proto-Germanic *rutāną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)reud- ('to rot'). The 'nonsense' sense is 19th-century slang.

rotian Old English *rutāną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# rot

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /rɑt/
**IPA (UK):** /rɒt/

## Meanings
1. to decay or decompose; the process or state of decay; nonsense

## Examples
- The fallen apples began to rot in the autumn damp.

## Synonyms
- decay
- decompose
- putrefy
- molder
- spoil
- fester
- nonsense

## Antonyms
- flourish
- thrive
- grow

## Derived Forms
- rotten
- rotting
- rotted
- rotter

## Related Forms
- rotten
- ret

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: rotian
- Root: *rutāną

## Etymology
From Old English rotian ('to decay, putrefy'), from Proto-Germanic *rutāną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)reud- ('to rot'). The 'nonsense' sense is 19th-century slang.

## AI Etymology
Rot comes from Old English rotian ('to decay, putrefy'), from Proto-Germanic *rutāną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)reud- ('to rot'). The 'nonsense' sense is 19th-century slang. The historical chain includes Old English rotian and Proto-Germanic *rutāną. Older glosses in the chain include "to decay, putrefy", "to rot", and "nonsense", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, rot is best read as borrowing, yielding an English verb and noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb and noun, with the sense "to decay or decompose; the process or state of decay; nonsense". English derivatives include rotten, rotting, rotted, and rotter; related forms include rotten and ret. The result is an English verb and noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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rot