rout

rout — noun

1. a situation in a battle, competition, or election where one side is beaten so co

1.nounB2
Definition

a situation in a battle, competition, or election where one side is beaten so completely that its members scatter or flee in confusion

Example

The battle turned into a rout when the general's army scattered into the forest.

collocation: turned into a rout

Pim's political party suffered a complete rout in the local elections last month.

collocation: suffer a rout

Common collocations
  • suffer a rout
  • turn into a rout
  • complete rout
  • humiliating rout
  • total rout
Synonyms
  • defeat

    the general term for losing; 'rout' implies a much more thorough and disorderly loss

  • downfall

    focuses on the end of success or power rather than the chaotic nature of the loss

  • debacle

    emphasizes the embarrassing failure; less physical than 'rout'

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a + rout

suffer + a + rout

Usage Note

Frequently appears in phrases like 'suffer a rout' or 'turn into a rout'. The noun is usually singular; a plural form is extremely rare.

Idioms

put someone to rout

idiom

to defeat someone completely, especially in a battle, causing them to flee in disorder

The king's cavalry put the rebel army to rout before the sun had fully risen.

put somebody to rout

idiom

To defeat someone thoroughly and without difficulty.

Our team put the visitors to rout with a 5-0 score.

Did the general put the enemy to rout in the battle?

rout — verb

Word family

  • routed
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to losing, but they differ in how complete and chaotic the loss is. 'Defeat' is the broadest term — any time one side loses, it has suffered a defeat, whether by one point or one hundred. 'Rout' specifically describes a loss so total that the defeated side scatters in disorder; the image is of soldiers fleeing the battlefield. 'Debacle' focuses on the embarrassing failure aspect — a plan that collapses in a humiliating way, often because of bad judgment rather than superior force. 'Downfall' traces the end of a person's or group's power over time, like the downfall of a corrupt government. For example: 'The team suffered a defeat last night' (neutral). 'The team suffered a rout, losing 56–0' (emphasizes the scale). 'The whole campaign was a debacle from start to finish' (emphasizes the shame). 'The scandal led to the CEO's downfall' (emphasizes the long-term fall from power).

rout ↗defeat ↗debacledownfall

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • put to rout
  • turn into a rout
  • suffer a rout

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'rout' entered English in the 13th century from Old French 'route', meaning a disorderly flight or troop in retreat. The French word traces back to Latin 'ruptus' (broken), the past participle of 'rumpere' (to break). The core idea — something broken apart — carried into the military sense of a defeated army breaking ranks and scattering. A separate, now-rare homograph meaning 'to dig with the snout' comes from Old English 'wrotan' and is unrelated.