1. (使)腐烂;(使)腐败;(使)变质
    When food, wood, or another substance rots, or when something rots it, it becomes softer and is gradually destroyed.

    e.g. If we don't unload it soon, the grain will start rotting in the silos...
           如果我们不立刻把粮食卸下来，它们就会在筒仓里开始腐烂。
    e.g. Sugary canned drinks rot your teeth.
           罐装的甜饮料会腐蚀牙齿。

2. （尤指木制品的）腐烂，腐败，腐朽
    If there is rot in something, especially something that is made of wood, parts of it have decayed and fallen apart.

    e.g. Investigations had revealed extensive rot in the beams under the ground floor...
           调查发现一层地下的横梁大面积腐烂。
    e.g. Neither the timber frame nor metal chassis were protected against rot.
           木构架和金属底盘都没有采取防腐措施。

3. （逐步的）恶化，衰败
    You can use the rot to refer to the way something gradually gets worse. For example, if you are talking about the time when the rot set in, you are talking about the time when a situation began to get steadily worse and worse.

rot

    e.g. In many schools, the rot is beginning to set in. Standards are falling all the time...
           很多学校的情况正开始变得越来越糟，教学水平一路下滑。
    e.g. The country's leaders are unwilling to take unpopular measures to stop the rot.
           该国领导人不愿采取不受欢迎的措施来阻止形势恶化。

4. (尤指人在狱中)身心状况越来越糟，萎靡不振，颓废下去
    If you say that someone is being left to rot in a particular place, especially in a prison, you mean that they are being left there and their physical and mental condition is being allowed to get worse and worse.

    e.g. Most governments simply leave the long-term jobless to rot on the dole.
           大多数政府就让那些长期失业的人领着救济金颓废度日。

5. 胡说八道;胡扯;蠢话
    If you say that what someone is saying is rot, you mean that they are saying things that are untrue or stupid.

    e.g. What a load of pompous, pseudo-intellectual rot...
           真是自命不凡的伪知识分子的一派胡言！
    e.g. You do talk rot!
           你胡扯！

6. see also: dry rot

相关词组：rot away