rut

¹

[ ruht ]

noun

1. a furrow or track in the ground, especially one made by the passage of a vehicle or vehicles.
2. any furrow, groove, etc.
3. a fixed or established mode of procedure or course of life, usually dull or unpromising:

   to fall into a rut.

verb (used with object)

, rut·ted, rut·ting.

1. to make a rut or ruts in; furrow.

rut

²

[ ruht ]

noun

1. the periodically recurring sexual excitement of the deer, goat, sheep, etc.

verb (used without object)

, rut·ted, rut·ting.

1. to be in the condition of rut.

rut

¹

/ rʌt /

noun

1. a recurrent period of sexual excitement and reproductive activity in certain male ruminants, such as the deer, that corresponds to the period of oestrus in females
2. another name for oestrus

verb

1. intr (of male ruminants) to be in a period of sexual excitement and activity

rut

²

/ rʌt /

noun

1. a groove or furrow in a soft road, caused by wheels
2. any deep mark, hole, or groove
3. a narrow or predictable way of life, set of attitudes, etc; dreary or undeviating routine (esp in the phrase in a rut )

verb

1. tr to make a rut or ruts in

Word History and Origins

Origin of rut¹

First recorded in 1570–80; perhaps variant of route

Origin of rut²

1375–1425; late Middle English rutte < Middle French rut, ruit < Late Latin rugītus a roaring, equivalent to Latin rugī ( re ) to roar + -tus suffix of v. action

Word History and Origins

Origin of rut¹

C15: from Old French rut noise, roar, from Latin rugītus , from rugīre to roar

Origin of rut²

C16: probably from French route road

Idioms and Phrases

see in a rut .

Example Sentences

Without work or friends — a dramatic convenience that will allow him to find both — he has settled into a comfortable rut, amplifying what we’re to understand is a reserved, cerebral nature; he’s fascinated by facts and figures, but less good with people.

From Los Angeles Times

"She has connected with everyone individually. We got into a bit of a rut with low confidence and she has just stripped it back and wants the best out of every player. It’s working."

From BBC

To know that after heavy January rains, inevitably there will be a deep, V-shaped rut along the center of the trailhead, like a voracious alien mouth; or that in late May the mustard weed will be so wildly overgrown and bushy that it will completely swallow up the trailhead sign, post and all; or that for a brief window in late October-early November, two pink silk floss trees will bloom the color of bubble gum just below the Vista Del Valle lookout point.

From Los Angeles Times

Rut Moyano, a resident of Benetússer, near Valencia, chronicled the increasingly desperate situation in her town on X. Pleading for help, she said she was sheltering with neighbours on the upper floors of her building when one of them suffered a heart attack and died.

From BBC

Buried were the sins of their predecessors, the failings of past seasons, the rut of postseason humiliation.

From Los Angeles Times