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rot

Pronunciation: /ɹɒt/

The English word “rot” has 12 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To suffer decomposition due to biological action, especially by fungi or bacteria.
  2. To decline in function or utility.
  3. To (cause to) deteriorate in any way, as in morals; to corrupt.
  4. To make putrid; to cause to be wholly or partially decomposed by natural processes.
  5. To spend a long period of time (in an unpleasant place or state).
  6. To expose, as flax, to a process of maceration, etc., for the purpose of separating the fiber; to ret.
  7. To talk nonsense.
  8. Damn; blast.

noun

  1. The process of becoming rotten; putrefaction.
  2. Decaying matter.
  3. Any of several diseases in which breakdown of tissue occurs.
  4. Verbal nonsense.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English roten, rotten, from Old English rotian (“to rot, become corrupted, ulcerate, putrefy”), from Proto-West Germanic *rotēn, from Proto-Germanic *rutāną (“to rot”).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.