/ rʌt; NAmE / noun
1.
[ C ] a deep track that a wheel makes in soft ground
2.
[ C ] a boring way of life that does not change :
I gave up my job because I felt I was stuck in a rut .
If you don't go out and meet new people, it's easy to get into a rut .
3.
[ U ] (also the rut ) the time of year when male animals, especially deer , become sexually active
—see also rutted , rutting
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WORD ORIGIN
senses 1 to 2 late 16th cent.: probably from Old French rute road, from Latin rupta (via) broken (way), feminine past participle of rumpere .
sense 3 late Middle English : from Old French , from Latin rugitus , from rugire to roar.