Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To dig with the snout; root.
  • intransitive verb To poke around; rummage.
  • intransitive verb To expose to view as if by digging; uncover.
  • intransitive verb To hollow, scoop, or gouge out.
  • intransitive verb To drive or force out as if by digging; eject.
  • intransitive verb Archaic To dig up with the snout.
  • intransitive verb To bellow. Used of cattle.
  • noun A disorderly retreat or flight following defeat.
  • noun An overwhelming defeat.
  • noun A disorderly crowd of people; a mob.
  • noun People of the lowest class; rabble.
  • noun A public disturbance; a riot.
  • noun A fashionable gathering.
  • noun Archaic A group of people, especially knights, or of animals, especially wolves.
  • transitive verb To put to disorderly flight or retreat.
  • transitive verb To defeat overwhelmingly. synonym: defeat.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To extricate from (other things); hunt up; dig (out); with out.
  • noun The brent or brant-goose, Bernicla brenta.
  • noun A loud noise; uproar; tumult.
  • noun . Snoring. Chaucer (ed. Morris).
  • noun A stunning blow.
  • To make a noise; roar; bellow, as a bull or cow; snort, as a horse.
  • . To snore.
  • . To howl, as the wind; make a roaring noise.
  • noun A defeat followed by confused or tumultuous retreat; disorderly flight caused by defeat, as of an army or any body of contestants; hence, any thorough repulse, overthrow, or discomfiture: as, to put an army to rout.
  • To put to rout; drive into disordered flight by defeat, as an armed force; hence, to defeat or repulse thoroughly; drive off or dispel, as something of an inimical character.
  • To drive or force, as from a state of repose, concealment. or the like; urge or incite to movement or activity; hence, to draw or drag (forth or out): generally with out or up: as, to rout out a lot of intruders; to rout up a sleeper; to rout out a secret hoard or a recondite fact. See router-out.
  • Synonyms Overwhelm, Overthrow, etc. See defeat.
  • To crowd or be driven into a confused mass, as from panic following defeat, or from any external force.
  • To start up hurriedly; turn out suddenly or reluctantly, as from a state of repose.
  • To turn up with the snout; root, as a hog: same as root, 1.
  • In mech., to deepen; scoop out; cut out; dig out, as moldings, the spaces between and around block-letters, bookbinders' stamps, etc.
  • To root; rummage or poke about.
  • noun See route.
  • To collect together; assemble in a company.
  • noun A troop; a band; a company in general, either of persons or of animals; specifically, a pack of wolves; any irregular or casual aggregation of beings; a crowd.
  • noun A disorderly or confused crowd of persons; a tumultuous rabble; used absolutely, the general or vulgar mass; the rabble.
  • noun A large social assemblage; a general gathering of guests for entertainment; a crowded evening party.
  • noun At common law, an assemblage of three or more persons breaking or threatening to break the peace; a company which is engaged in or has made some movement toward unlawful action.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb obs. To assemble in a crowd, whether orderly or disorderly; to collect in company.
  • transitive verb To scoop out with a gouge or other tool; to furrow.
  • transitive verb [Colloq.] To turn out by force or compulsion; as, to rout people out of bed.
  • transitive verb To break the ranks of, as troops, and put them to flight in disorder; to put to rout.
  • intransitive verb Obs. or Scot. To roar; to bellow; to snort; to snore loudly.
  • noun A bellowing; a shouting; noise; clamor; uproar; disturbance; tumult.
  • noun obsolete A troop; a throng; a company; an assembly; especially, a traveling company or throng.
  • noun A disorderly and tumultuous crowd; a mob; hence, the rabble; the herd of common people.
  • noun 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.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Variant of root.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English routen, to roar, from Old Norse rauta.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English route, from Old French, troop, defeat, from Vulgar Latin *rupta, from feminine of Latin ruptus, past participle of rumpere, to break; see reup- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English routen, ruten, from Old English hrūtan ("to make a noise, whiz, snore"), also rēotan, *hrēotan (“to make a noise, make a noise in grief, weep, mourn, lament, wail, shed tears”), both from Proto-Germanic *hrūtanan, *hreutanan (“to snore, snort”), from Proto-Indo-European *ker-, *kor-, *kr- (“to croak, crow”). Cognate with Middle Dutch ruyten ("to make a noise, chatter, chirp"), Middle High German rūzen, rūssen ("to make a noise, rattle, buzz, snore"), Icelandic rjóta, hrjóta ("to roar, rattle, snore"). Related also to Swedish ryta ("to roar, bellow, shout"), Icelandic rauta ("to roar").

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

1598, "disorderly retreat," from Middle French route "disorderly flight of troops," literally "a breaking off, rupture," from Vulgar Latin rupta "a dispersed group," literally "a broken group," from Latin rupta, feminine past participle of rumpere "to break" (see rupture). The verb is from 1600.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Alteration of root.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English ruten ("to rush, dart, dash, beat"), from Old Norse hrjóta ("to jump down, fall out, plunge, hurl, burst forth, rebound, fly, be flung"), from Proto-Germanic *hreutanan (“to plunge, rush, hurl, shatter, fall, break”), from Proto-Indo-European *kreu- (“to fall, plunge, rush, topple”). Cognate with Middle High German rûzen ("to move quickly, storm"). Related also to Old English hrēosan ("to fall, sink, fall down, go to ruin, rush, rush upon, attack"). More at rush.

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Examples

  • Toss in a steady dose of Ray Rice, who only led the NFL in yards from scrimmage (2,068) while rushing for career highs in yards (1,364) and TDs (12) and well, the word "rout" comes to mind.

    NYDN Rss SEAN BRENNAN 2012

  • Then, when the loss-cum-rout is tallied, there will be no mistake about the message of the voters; there will be no mis-interpretation, there will be no possible way to plausibly spin away the repudiation of Obama and his allies.

    President Obama concedes loss of House in 2010. | RedState 2010

  • Ravens send message to top-seeded Titans in rout of Dolphins - USATODAY. com

    Ravens send message to top-seeded Titans in rout of Dolphins 2009

  • Ravens send message to top-seeded Titans in rout of Dolphins

    Ravens send message to top-seeded Titans in rout of Dolphins 2009

  • Since the mid-term rout, some progressive donors who were big Obama supporters in 2010, have been meeting on the issue of trying to topple Obama in favor of a Democrat who would be able to fight the 2012 election as an economic progressive with clean hands, challenging the failures of both Obama and of the Republicans.

    Robert Kuttner: What Now for the Democrats? Robert Kuttner 2010

  • Close X 'Game 3: Tampa Bay 9, Boston 1 text35045c4308ab64bfcb8a506ba98fe347c =' MORE GAME 3 Box score Game story: Rays hit 4 HRs in rout Rays 'Garza shows his stuff Boston's Ortiz, Ellsbury struggle at plate

    Red Sox force decisive Game 7 2008

  • Since the mid-term rout, some progressive donors who were big Obama supporters in 2010, have been meeting on the issue of trying to topple Obama in favor of a Democrat who would be able to fight the 2012 election as an economic progressive with clean hands, challenging the failures of both Obama and of the Republicans.

    Robert Kuttner: What Now for the Democrats? Robert Kuttner 2010

  • Close X 'Game 3: Tampa Bay 9, Boston 1 text35045c4308ab64bfcb8a506ba98fe347c =' MORE GAME 3 Box score Game story: Rays hit 4 HRs in rout Rays 'Garza shows his stuff Boston's Ortiz, Ellsbury struggle at plate

    Extra effort sends Rays to Fenway all even in ALCS 2008

  • Since the mid-term rout, some progressive donors who were big Obama supporters in 2010, have been meeting on the issue of trying to topple Obama in favor of a Democrat who would be able to fight the 2012 election as an economic progressive with clean hands, challenging the failures of both Obama and of the Republicans.

    Robert Kuttner: What Now for the Democrats? Robert Kuttner 2010

  • Since the mid-term rout, some progressive donors who were big Obama supporters in 2010, have been meeting on the issue of trying to topple Obama in favor of a Democrat who would be able to fight the 2012 election as an economic progressive with clean hands, challenging the failures of both Obama and of the Republicans.

    Robert Kuttner: What Now for the Democrats? Robert Kuttner 2010

Comments

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  • Time drops in decay,

    Like a candle burnt out,

    And the mountains and woods

    Have their day, have their day;

    What one in the rout

    Of the fire-born moods,

    Has fallen away?

    - W.B. Yeats, 'The Moods'.

    September 18, 2009

  • "Because triumphant health in the general rout of constitutions is a kind of power in itself." --Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

    March 6, 2011