1
: a state of wild confusion or disorderly retreat
2
a
: a disastrous defeat : debacle
b
: a precipitate flight
routed; routing; routs
1
a
: to defeat decisively or disastrously
the discomfiture of seeing their party routed at the polls—
A. N. Holcombe
A. N. Holcombe
b
: to put to precipitate flight
c
: to disorganize completely : demoralize
2
: to drive out : dispel
1
: a crowd of people
specifically
: rabble sense 1c
2
a
b
archaic
: fuss
3
: a fashionable gathering
routed; routing; routs
1
: to poke around with the snout : root
pigs routing in the earth
2
: to search haphazardly
1
: to come up with : uncover
scouts … routing out new talent—Carrie Donovan
Carrie Donovan2
a
: to force out as if by digging
—usually used with out
b
: to cause to emerge especially from bed
3
a
: to gouge out or make a furrow in (something, such as wood or metal)
b
archaic
: to dig up with the snout
routed; routing; routs
Synonyms
Examples of rout in a Sentence
Noun (2)
the championship game was a humiliating rout for the team that had been favored to win
in the mad rout from the school shooter, it was every person for himself
Verb (2)
a great rout of rubberneckers had gathered around the scene of the accident
at first the protests were dismissed as nothing more than the idle doings of the restless rout
Verb (3)
as expected, the professional team had no trouble routing the amateurs
the nation's ground and air forces quickly routed the would-be invaders
Recent Examples on the Web
Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024
Boeing was forced to slow production at its 737 factory in Renton, Wash., last week because of an issue with junction boxes, which are used to rout electrical cables through planes, Seattle’s King 5 news first reported.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2024
Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
There simply weren’t enough game balls to go around after the Chargers’ 27-10 rout of the Cleveland Browns, their second consecutive comprehensive victory after a lackluster loss in the final seconds to the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 21 cast doubts about their fitness as a playoff contender.
—Elliott Teaford, Orange County Register, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rout 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Murray beats defending champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 in his fifth try in the final of a major tournament.
2017 — The Rams rout the Indianapolis Colts 46-9 in 31-year-old Sean McVay’s impressive debut as the youngest head coach in modern league history.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024
Boeing was forced to slow production at its 737 factory in Renton, Wash., last week because of an issue with junction boxes, which are used to rout electrical cables through planes, Seattle’s King 5 news first reported.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2024
Noun
Before the bye week, Cal delivered its most complete performance of the season, a 44-7 non-conference rout of former Pac-12 rival Oregon State.
—Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
There simply weren’t enough game balls to go around after the Chargers’ 27-10 rout of the Cleveland Browns, their second consecutive comprehensive victory after a lackluster loss in the final seconds to the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 21 cast doubts about their fitness as a playoff contender.
—Elliott Teaford, Orange County Register, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rout
Articles Related to rout
Dictionary Entries Near rout
Cite this Entry
“Rout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rout. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rout
1 of 3 verb1
: to poke around with the snout : root entry 3
2
: to dig or cut a groove in (as wood or metal)
3
a
: to drive by force
routed out of their homes
b
: to cause to come out especially from bed
rout
2 of 3 noun1
: a state of wild confusion and disorderly retreat
2
: a disastrous defeat
rout
3 of 3 verb
routed; routing
1
: to put to flight
2
: to defeat completely
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share