noun

rut

ruht-ruh

noun

A deep groove or track worn into the ground by repeated wheels or footsteps.

"The truck got stuck in a muddy rut on the dirt road."

A fixed, boring routine that feels hard to escape.

"After years at the same job, she felt she was stuck in a rut."

"We fell into a rut of ordering the same takeout every Friday."

The mating season of certain male mammals, such as deer, marked by heightened sexual activity.

"Stags become more aggressive during the autumn rut."

How to Use Rut

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishLiterally a worn groove in the ground; figuratively, a dull routine you feel trapped in. Also the breeding season of deer and similar animals.

Common mistake

The "boring routine" sense ("stuck in a rut") is unrelated in feel to the animal-mating sense, even though both come from the same word — context makes it obvious which is meant.

Common pairings

stuck in a rut get out of a rut the autumn rut

Word Forms

rutted past tense, rutted past tense, ruts plural, ruts plural, ruts singular, ruts singular

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The truck got stuck in a muddy _____ on the dirt road.

Etymology

From Old French rut, "roar" or "bellowing," originally describing the noise male deer make during mating season.

Rhymes for rut

strut Beirut

See all rhymes for rut →