dry rotnoun [ U ]
uk/ˌdraɪ ˈrɒt/us/ˌdraɪ ˈrɑːt/a disease caused by a fungus that destroys wood in houses, boats, etc.
something, especially something that has been present for a long time, that gradually damages or destroys another thing:
World War I confirmed the dry rot at the heart of the 19th-Century European patriarchy.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Plant pathology
- auxin
- blight
- canker
- Dutch elm disease
- etiolated
- excrescence
- fungicide
- herbicide
- insecticide
- node
- organophosphate
- pesticide
- rust
- scab
- sterility
- wither
- worm-eaten
- wormhole
Examples from literature
- If there is dry rot, the beam will often crumble under a slight pressure of the fingers.
- In the next paper it is proposed to deal with the so-called "dry rot" in timber which has been felled and cut up—a disease which has produced much distress at various times and in various countries.
- Why, I see what looks like a patch of dry rot up yonder, that I bet I could stick my fist into, said he.