Adjacent Words

Rout definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ROUT, n.
1. A rabble; a clamorous multitude; a tumultuous crowd; as a rout of people assembled.
The endless routs of wretched thralls.
2. In law, a rout is where three persons or more meet to do an unlawful act upon a common quarrel, as forcibly to break down fences on a right claimed of common or of way, and make some advances towards it.
3. A select company; a party for gaming.
ROUT, n. [This is a corruption of the L. ruptus, from rumpo, to break.]
The breaking or defeat of an army or band of troops, or the disorder and confusion of troops thus defeated and put to flight.
ROUT, v.t. To break the ranks of troops and put them to flight in disorder; to defeat and throw into confusion.
The king's horse - routed and defeated the whole army.
ROUT, v.i. To assemble in a clamorous and tumultuous crowd. [Not in use.]
ROUT, n. [It belongs to the family of ride and L. gradior; properly a going or passing.]
The course or way which is traveled or passed, or to be passed; a passing; a course; a march.
Wide through the furzy field their rout they take.
Rout and road are not synonymous.
We say, to mend or repair a road, but not to mend a rout. We use rout for a course of passing, and not without reference to the passing of some person or body of men; but rout is not the road itself.
ROUT, v.i. To snore. Obs.
ROUT, v.t. [for root.] To turn up the ground with the snout; to search. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a disorderly crowd of people [syn: mob, rabble, rout]
2: an overwhelming defeat v
1: cause to flee; "rout out the fighters from their caves" [syn: rout, rout out, expel]
2: dig with the snout; "the pig was rooting for truffles" [syn: rout, root, rootle]
3: make a groove in [syn: rout, gouge]
4: defeat disastrously [syn: spread-eagle, spreadeagle, rout]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English route band, company of soldiers, crowd, from Anglo-French rute band, from Vulgar Latin *rupta, from Latin, feminine of ruptus, past participle of rumpere to break — more at reave Date: 13th century 1. a crowd of people ; throng; specifically rabble 2b 2. a. disturbance b. archaic fuss 3. a fashionable gathering II. intransitive verb Etymology: Middle English rowten, from Old Norse rauta; akin to Old English r?otan to weep, Latin rudere to roar Date: 14th century dialect chiefly British to low loudly ; bellow — used of cattle III. verb Etymology: alteration of ³root Date: circa 1564 intransitive verb 1. to poke around with the snout ; root <pigs routing in the earth> 2. to search haphazardly transitive verb 1. a. archaic to dig up with the snout b. to gouge out or make a furrow in (as wood or metal) 2. a. to force out as if by digging — usually used with out b. to cause to emerge especially from bed 3. to come up with ; uncover <scouts…routing out new talent — Carrie Donovan> IV. noun Etymology: Middle French route defeat, perhaps from mettre en route to set going, put into motion Date: 1598 1. a state of wild confusion or disorderly retreat 2. a. a disastrous defeat ; debacle b. a precipitate flight V. transitive verb Date: circa 1600 1. a. to disorganize completely ; demoralize b. to put to precipitate flight c. to defeat decisively or disastrously <the discomfiture of seeing their party routed at the polls — A. N. Holcombe> 2. to drive out ; dispel

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a disorderly retreat of defeated troops. 2 a an assemblage or company esp. of revellers or rioters. b Law an assemblage of three or more persons who have made a move towards committing an illegal act. 3 riot, tumult, disturbance, clamour, fuss. 4 Brit. archaic a large evening party or reception. --v.tr. put to rout. Phrases and idioms: put to rout put to flight, defeat utterly. Etymology: ME f. AF rute, OF route ult. f. L ruptus broken 2. v. 1 intr. & tr. = ROOT(2). 2 tr. cut a groove, or any pattern not extending to the edges, in (a wooden or metal surface). Phrases and idioms: rout out force or fetch out of bed or from a house or hiding-place. Etymology: var. of ROOT(2)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rout Rout (rout), v. i. [AS. hr[=u]tan.] To roar; to bellow; to snort; to snore loudly. [Obs. or Scot.] --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rout Rout, n. A bellowing; a shouting; noise; clamor; uproar; disturbance; tumult. --Shak. This new book the whole world makes such a rout about. --Sterne. ``My child, it is not well,'' I said, ``Among the graves to shout; To laugh and play among the dead, And make this noisy rout.'' --Trench.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rout Rout, v. t. [A variant of root.] To scoop out with a gouge or other tool; to furrow. To rout out (a) To turn up to view, as if by rooting; to discover; to find. (b) To turn out by force or compulsion; as, to rout people out of bed. [Colloq.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rout Rout, v. i. To search or root in the ground, as a swine. --Edwards.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rout Rout, n. [OF. route, LL. rupta, properly, a breaking, fr. L. ruptus, p. p. of rumpere to break. See Rupture, reave, and cf. Rote repetition of forms, Route. In some senses this word has been confused with rout a bellowing, an uproar.] [Formerly spelled also route.] 1. A troop; a throng; a company; an assembly; especially, a traveling company or throng. [Obs.] ``A route of ratones [rats].'' --Piers Plowman. ``A great solemn route.'' --Chaucer. And ever he rode the hinderest of the route. --Chaucer. A rout of people there assembled were. --Spenser. 2. A disorderly and tumultuous crowd; a mob; hence, the rabble; the herd of common people. the endless routs of wretched thralls. --Spenser. The ringleader and head of all this rout. --Shak. Nor do I name of men the common rout. --Milton. 3. The state of being disorganized and thrown into confusion; -- said especially of an army defeated, broken in pieces, and put to flight in disorder or panic; also, the act of defeating and breaking up an army; as, the rout of the enemy was complete. thy army . . . Dispersed in rout, betook them all to fly. --Daniel. To these giad conquest, murderous rout to those. --pope. 4. (Law) A disturbance of the peace by persons assembled together with intent to do a thing which, if executed, would make them rioters, and actually making a motion toward the executing thereof. --Wharton. 5. A fashionable assembly, or large evening party. ``At routs and dances.'' --Landor. To put to rout, to defeat and throw into confusion; to overthrow and put to flight.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rout Rout, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Routed; p. pr. & vb. n. Routing.] To break the ranks of, as troops, and put them to flight in disorder; to put to rout. That party . . . that charged the Scots, so totally routed and defeated their whole army, that they fied. --Clarendon. Syn: To defeat; discomfit; overpower; overthrow.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rout Rout, v. i. To assemble in a crowd, whether orderly or disorderly; to collect in company. [obs.] --Bacon. In all that land no Christian[s] durste route. --Chaucer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(routs, routing, routed) If an army, sports team, or other group routs its opponents, it defeats them completely and easily. ...the Battle of Hastings at which the Norman army routed the English opposition. VERB: V n • Rout is also a noun. Zidane completed the rout with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Defeat, discomfiture, ruin, complete overthrow. 2. Concourse, rabble, multitude, tumultuous crowd, clamorous multitude. 3. Fashionable assembly, evening party. 4. Uproar, brawl, disturbance, noise. II. v. a. 1. Defeat, discomfort, overthrow, overpower, beat, conquer. 2. Dispel, chase away, drive away, rout out, turn out, search thoroughly.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A modern card meeting at a private house; also an order from the Secretary at War, directing the march and quartering of soldiers.

Moby Thesaurus

a mass of, a world of, agitation, and bobtail, annihilate, army, attendance, attendant, bafflement, balk, batter, bawl, beat, beating, bellow, best, bevy, bluster, bobbery, body of retainers, boil, boiling, bring down, brouhaha, bunch, bustle, cakewalk, canaille, chase, chase out, check, checkmate, churn, clamor, clobber, cloud, cluster, clutter, cohort, cohue, collapse, common ruck, commotion, confound, confusion, conquer, conquest, conturbation, cortege, court, covey, cream, crowd, crush, debacle, defeasance, defeat, deluge, demolish, destroy, devastate, dig out, discomfit, discomfiture, discomposure, disorder, dispel, dispersal, disquiet, disquietude, disturbance, do away with, do in, dregs, drive, drive out, drub, drubbing, drum out, dust, ebullition, eliminate, embroilment, entourage, eradicate, excitement, expel, exterminate, ferment, fermentation, fever, feverishness, fidgets, flap, flatten, flight, flock, flocks, flood, flurry, fluster, flutteration, foil, follower, following, foment, force out, freeze out, frustration, fume, fuss, galaxy, hail, harry out, heap, hiding, hive, hoi polloi, horde, host, hubbub, hunt down, hunt out, hurly-burly, inquietude, jam, jitters, jumpiness, knock off, lambaste, large amount, lay waste, legion, lick, licking, liquidate, lots, maelstrom, make mincemeat of, malaise, mangle, many, mass, massacre, masses, masses of, mob, moil, muchness, multitude, murder, mutilate, nerviness, nervosity, nervousness, nest, numbers, obliterate, other half, overpower, overrun, overthrow, overwhelm, pack, panic, panoply, parasite, perturbation, plurality, polish off, press, proletariat, pulverize, push out, put down, put to flight, put to rout, quantities, quite a few, rabble, rabblement, rag, ragtag, ragtag and bobtail, ravage, rebuff, repulse, restlessness, retinue, retreat, reversal, reverse, ride roughshod over, riffraff, roar, roil, romp, rout out, row, ruck, ruin, run out, satellite, scatter, scores, seethe, seething, setback, shatter, shellac, shellacking, shoal, skunk, smash, smoke out, smother, spate, squash, stampede, stifle, stir, subdue, subjugate, subjugation, suite, suppress, swarm, swirl, tag, thrash, thrashing, throng, tidy sum, to-do, topple, train, trample, trash, trepidation, trepidity, trim, trounce, trouncing, tumult, tumultuation, turbidity, turbulence, turmoil, twitter, unease, unrest, upset, vanquish, vanquishment, walkaway, walkover, wallop, warming, whip, wipe out, worlds of, worst