/rot/ , v. , rotted, rotting , n., interj.
v.i.
1. to undergo decomposition; decay.
2. to deteriorate, disintegrate, fall, or become weak due to decay (often fol. by away, from, off, etc.).
3. to languish, as in confinement.
4. to become morally corrupt or offensive.
v.t.
5. to cause to rot: Dampness rots wood.
6. to cause moral decay in; cause to become morally corrupt.
7. to ret (flax, hemp, etc.).
n.
8. the process of rotting.
9. the state of being rotten; decay; putrefaction: the rot of an old house.
10. rotting or rotten matter: the rot and waste of a swamp.
11. moral or social decay or corruption.
12. Pathol. any disease characterized by decay.
13. Plant Pathol.
a. any of various forms of decay produced by fungi or bacteria.
b. any disease so characterized.
14. Vet. Pathol. a bacterial infection of sheep and cattle characterized by decay of the hoofs, caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum in cattle and Bacteroides nodosus in sheep.
15. nonsense.
interj.
16. (used to express disagreement, distaste, or disgust.)
[ bef. 900; (v.) ME rot ( t ) en, OE rotian, c. Fris rotsje, D rotten; (n.) ME, perh. rot (perh. partly deriv. of the v.); cf. RET, ROTTEN) ]
Syn. 1. mold, molder, putrefy, spoil. See decay. 9. decomposition, mold.
Ant. 4, 6. purify.