rotten1 adjectiverotten2 adverb
rottenrot‧ten1 /ˈrɒtn $ ˈrɑːtn/ ●●○ adjective 
WORD ORIGINrotten1
Origin:
1200-1300 Old Norse rotinnEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- rotten eggs
- a pile of rotten apples
- I've had a rotten day.
- I wouldn't climb that tree if I were you - some of the branches look rotten.
- The floor in the bathroom is all rotten.
- There was a disgusting smell in the house - a bit like rotten eggs.
- There were some cheap oranges in the market but most of them were rotten.
- Tom complained loudly about the rotten service.
- We want to get rid of the whole rotten tax system.
- You're rotten at lying.
- Gao Yang was frightened by his rotten, misshapen teeth and weepy, festering eyes.
- He's had a rotten life and he's still having it with that woman.
- He scrabbled in the snow for the rotten corpse.
- In this case, Acheson said one rotten apple would infect the whole barrel.
- Inspect stored fruit every week and throw out any that has started to go rotten.
- She flung the receiver away from her as though it were rotten, and backed toward the door.
- The group publicizes the problems of families denied information from Chechnya as well as the rotten conditions of troops there.
Longman Language Activatorsomething that has decayed
something that is rotten has decayed badly and often smells unpleasant - use this especially about wood, fruit, vegetables, plants etc: · There was a disgusting smell in the house - a bit like rotten eggs.· I wouldn't climb that tree if I were you - some of the branches look rotten.· a pile of rotten apples
decayed objects and materials are ones that are gradually being destroyed by natural chemical changes: · Bees will often build their nests in decayed wood.· Sixty years ago, the average 4 year old had 7 decayed or missing teeth.· Even the stonework on the old house was decayed and crumbling.
decomposed flesh or plants are dead and are gradually being broken up and destroyed by natural chemical changes: decomposed body/remains: · The girl's decomposed body had been in the water for a long time.badly/partially/half decomposed: · Coal is the partially decomposed remains of forests that covered the earth millions of years ago.· Both men's bodies were badly decomposed.
British /moldy American something that is mouldy has a soft green or black substance growing on its surface: · All there was in the fridge was a piece of mouldy cheese and some tomatoes.· The cupboards were damp and full of moldy old clothes.go mouldy: · This pizza's so old it's gone mouldy!
rusty metal has become rough and brown because it is decaying, especially because it has not been protected from the damaging effects of water and air: · A rusty old car had been abandoned at the side of the road.· I opened the rusty iron gate and walked up the path.· The bicycle looked a bit rusty, but it worked.
metal that is corroded has become weak and has changed colour, especially because it has not been protected from the damaging effects of chemicals, water, and air: · You should never use leaking or corroded batteries.· Badly corroded metal gutters and downpipes should be replaced by the plastic type.
not fresh especially spoken if food goes off or goes bad , it starts to decay because it has been kept for too long: · Can you smell this milk and see if you think it's gone off?· I don't think we should eat that meat now - it's probably gone bad.
especially British food that is bad is not good to eat, because it has started to decay: · She must have eaten something bad because she was really sick in the night.· Shall I just throw away these bad apples?
bread, cake etc that is stale is hard, dry, and unpleasant to eat: · This bread's stale - have we got another loaf?· All we got was a cup of tea and a bit of stale cake.go stale: · Put the biscuits back in the tin or they'll go stale.
milk, cream, wine etc that is sour tastes bitter and smells unpleasant: · The wine was so sour that I couldn't drink it.go sour: · In these temperatures, milk goes sour very quickly.
fruit, vegetables, meat etc that is rotten is very badly decayed, has gone soft, smells unpleasant, and cannot be eaten: · There were some cheap oranges in the market but most of them were rotten.· the unmistakable smell of rotten eggs
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
The apples went rotten very quickly. What rotten luck! a rotten little bratCOLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES That woman is rotten to the core! His mother and sisters spoil him rotten (=spoil him very much). Their children were spoiled rotten (=very spoiled).
The apples went rotten very quickly. What rotten luck! a rotten little brat (=bad, so that the skin goes brown)· There were a few rotten apples lying on the ground.
That woman is rotten to the core! (=who does not tell believable lies)· You're a rotten liar, Julia. What really happened?
His mother and sisters spoil him rotten (=spoil him very much). Their children were spoiled rotten (=very spoiled).· She felt ashamed of her bad teeth and rarely smiled.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· From that bad start, many little rotten apples grew.· If you have one rotten apple in the bunch, it impacts the others.· We reject green and rotten apples; only the ripe apple is good.· In this case, Acheson said one rotten apple would infect the whole barrel.· A few windows were flung open, and two little lads pelted Broomhead with rotten apples before they were chased off.· And they are doing it in an era that has seen dot-coms dropping from the Internet tree like rotten apples.
· When Vice-President Nixon toured the area in 1958 he was pelted with rotten eggs and jostled by angry demonstrators.· All of the vent fluids are rich in this compound, which has the distinct odor of rotten eggs.· The smell is distinctive, too: chemicals and rotten eggs, the hydrogen sulphides produced by processing coal.· He smelt raw earth and then something else - rotten eggs.· There may also be green diarrhoea and a smell of rotten eggs.· Pelted with rotten eggs and faced with armed threats, the protesters eventually turned back.
· It's rotten, rotten luck.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► a rotten applePHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1badly decayed and no longer good to use: - I've felt rotten all day.
- If Rosa Lee felt like having a good time, or felt rotten, she would get high.
- Her very moral fiber was rotten to the core.
- But Tories have continued to attack, saying the scheme is a poor excuse for real pedestrianisation.
- Bomb threats and other dirty tricks kept many voters at home.
the smell of rotten eggs Some of the wood was completely rotten. The apples went rotten very quickly.2informal very bad SYN terrible: What rotten luck! a rotten idea The service was rotten. He’s a rotten driver.3informal if someone is rotten, they are unpleasant, unkind, or dishonest: Why are you being so rotten? a rotten little brat4feel rotten a)to feel ill b)to feel unhappy and guilty about something: I felt rotten about lying to him.5[only before noun] spoken used when you are angry: I don’t want your rotten money!6rotten to the core extremely dishonest: The whole government is rotten to the core.7a rotten apple one bad person who has a bad effect on all the others in a group—rottenness noun [uncountable]rotten1 adjectiverotten2 adverb
rottenrotten2 adverb informal COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES That woman is rotten to the core! His mother and sisters spoil him rotten (=spoil him very much). Their children were spoiled rotten (=very spoiled).
(=bad, so that the skin goes brown)· There were a few rotten apples lying on the ground.
That woman is rotten to the core! (=who does not tell believable lies)· You're a rotten liar, Julia. What really happened?
His mother and sisters spoil him rotten (=spoil him very much). Their children were spoiled rotten (=very spoiled).· She felt ashamed of her bad teeth and rarely smiled.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► fancy somebody rottenPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1spoil somebody rotten to treat someone too well or too kindly, especially a child, so that they think they should always have what they want: - Brittany's grandparents spoil her rotten.
- But Tories have continued to attack, saying the scheme is a poor excuse for real pedestrianisation.
- Bomb threats and other dirty tricks kept many voters at home.
He was the favorite, and his mother spoiled him rotten.2fancy somebody rotten British English to be extremely attracted to someone in a sexual way – used humorously- dental surgeon
- dentine
- dentist
- dentistry
- dentures
- denudation
- denude
- denunciation
- Denver
- Denver boot
- deny
- deodorant
- deodorize
- Depardieu, Gérard
- depart
- departed
- department
- departmental
- departmentalize
- Department For Business, Innovation and Skills
- Department for Constitutional Affairs
- Department for Culture, Media and Sport
- Department for Education and Skills
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Department for International Development