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rot(1) (iou)



rot noun. ME.

The process of rotting; the state of being rotten; decay, putrefaction. Also, rotten or decayed matter. ME.
C. Mungoshi His father's teeth were all black with rot. P. Carey The thatch was full of rot and the walls were seeping.
a. Any of various parasitic diseases, mainly of sheep, characterized by tissue necrosis, esp. of the liver; a particular form, instance, or epidemic, of this. LME.
b. Medicine. Any of various human diseases characterized by tissue necrosis or emaciation. Now rare. LME.
Cricket. A rapid fall of wickets during an innings; transf. a rapid succession of (usu. unaccountable) failures, a sudden decline or breakdown in standards or behaviour. Chiefly in stop the rot, the rot set in. M19.
J. B. Priestley He could not pretend..that such pitiful economies..could stop the rot. Times The rot began when Appleyard came into the attack. M. Woodhouse I went up to London..and that..is where the rot set in.
Nonsense, rubbish. Also as interjection, expr. incredulity or ridicule. colloq. M19.
P. G. Wodehouse Cutting short some rot at the other end..I hung up the receiver. C. Mungoshi He..talked and believed so much rot and superstition.
Phrases etc.: dry rot: see DRY adjective. foot-rot: see FOOT noun. soft rot: see SOFT adjective. tommy-rot: see TOMMY noun1. wet rot: see WET adjective. white rot: see WHITE adjective.
Comb.: rot-grass = white rot (b) s.v. WHITE adjective; rotproof adjective & verb trans. (treat so as to make) resistant to rot.