Decay Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of decay · 1 : to destroy by decomposition wood decayed by bacteria · 2 : gradual decline in strength, soundness, or prosperity or in degree of ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut decay verb SaveWord de·​cay |\di-ˈkā \ decayed;decaying;decays Definitionofdecay (Entry1of2) intransitiveverb 1 :toundergodecomposition decayingfruitHerteethweredecaying.…mostisotopesofcopperdecayquickly,buttwoarestable:Cu-63andCu-65.—DavidE.Thomas 2 :todeclineinhealth,strength,orvigor Hermindisbeginningtodecaywithage.believesthatthemoralfiberofoursocietyisdecaying 3 :tofallintoruin thecity'sdecayingneighborhoods 4 :todeclinefromasoundorprosperouscondition adecayingempire 5 :todecreaseusuallygraduallyinsize,quantity,activity,orforce Thethreevoices…decayedanddiedoutuponherear.—ThomasHardy transitiveverb 1 :todestroybydecomposition wooddecayedbybacteria 2 obsolete :tocausetodecay:impair Infirmity,thatdecaysthewise…—WilliamShakespeare decay noun Definitionofdecay (Entry2of2) 1a :rot Thematerialis…resistanttofire,decayandtermites…—JackMcClintock specifically :aerobicdecompositionofproteinschieflybybacteria b :theproductofdecay toothdecay 2 :gradualdeclineinstrength,soundness,orprosperityorindegreeofexcellenceorperfection thedecayofthepublicschoolsystem 3 :adeclineinhealthorvigor mentaldecay 4 :awastingorwearingaway:ruin aneighborhoodthathadfallenintodecay 5 :decreaseinquantity,activity,orforce:suchas a chemistry :spontaneousdecreaseinthenumberofradioactiveatomsinradioactivematerial b physics :spontaneousdisintegration(asofanatomoraparticle) 6 obsolete :destruction,death …sullenpresageofyourowndecay.—Shakespeare OtherWordsfromdecay Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym MoreExampleSentences PhrasesContainingdecay LearnMoreAboutdecay OtherWordsfromdecay Verb decayer noun Synonyms&Antonymsfordecay Synonyms:Verb breakdown, corrupt, decompose, disintegrate, fester, foul, mold, molder, perish [chieflyBritish], putrefy, rot, spoil Synonyms:Noun debilitation, decaying, declension, decline, degeneration, descent, deterioration, ebbing, enfeeblement, weakening Antonyms:Noun comeback, improvement, rally, recovery, recuperation, rehabilitation, revitalization, snapback VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymfordecay Verb decay,decompose,rot,putrefy,spoilmeantoundergodestructivedissolution.decayimpliesaslowchangefromastateofsoundnessorperfection. adecayingmansion decomposestressesabreakingdownbychemicalchangeandwhenappliedtoorganicmatteracorruption. thestrongodorofdecomposingvegetation rotisaclosesynonymofdecomposeandoftenconnotesfoulness. fruitwaslefttorotinwarehouses putrefyimpliestherottingofanimalmatterandoffensivenesstosightandsmell. corpsesputrefyingonthebattlefield spoilapplieschieflytothedecompositionoffoods. keepthehamfromspoiling ExamplesofdecayinaSentence Verb thesmellofdecayingrubbish deadplantsandleavesdecayedbybacteria Shebelievesthatthemoralfiberofoursocietyisdecaying. ourdecayingpublicschoolsystem Thecity'sneighborhoodsaredecaying. Noun thedecayofdeadplantsandleaves Shewritesaboutthemoraldecayofoursociety. thepatient'sphysicalandmentaldecay Thecity'sneighborhoodsareinslowdecay. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb Speciesevolve,planetsdecay,andthewaysofthepastfallasthefutureevolves. — EricFuller,Forbes,28Dec.2021 Overtime,amulchlayermadeofwoodchips,shreddedwood,leavesorotherplantmaterialswilldecayintothesoil,feedingbeneficialorganismsandaddingnutrientsthatplantsneed. — BethBotts,chicagotribune.com,9Oct.2021 Then,too,therewerescientificuncertaintiesaboutwhetherthevaccine’sprotectionwoulddecayovertime. — BenjaminWallace-well,TheNewYorker,12Aug.2021 Somearemajorcemeteries,somearefamilyplots,andsomehavebeenlosttodecayordevelopment. — SabrinaEaton,cleveland,5Feb.2022 Theirmotorspowerthebristlestovibrateoroscillate,effectivelyremovingbacteriatopreventplaquebuildupanddecay. — BraelynWood,Health.com,26Nov.2021 Thedenserthematerialis,themorelikelythesemuonswilllosealltheirenergy,grindtoahaltanddecayintoneutrinosandelectrons. — NewYorkTimes,10Nov.2021 Scenesofentireblocksreducedtorubbleendured—foryears—inmutetestamenttodecay,fromMottHaventoFordham. — NewYorkTimes,20Jan.2022 Plainfabricconjuresthesensememoryofhandmadeblanketsandweatheredskin,alwaysvulnerabletodecay. — WashingtonPost,11Jan.2022 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun Faultywiring,structuraldecayandvermininfestationshavemademanydangerousanduninhabitableatatimetheregionisindesperateneedformorehousing. — LosAngelesTimes,21Feb.2022 Thedrugsbegetthecamps,whichinturnbegetcommunitydecay. — JeffEager,NationalReview,7Feb.2022 Ithasbeenshowninpastresearchtograduallychangethemakeupofbacteriainthemouthsothatfewerdecay-causingbacteriasurviveontoothsurfacesandlessplaqueforms. — LauraUngar,chicagotribune.com,3Feb.2022 It’srottingourbrains;it’scausingsocietaldecay! — JennySinger,Glamour,25Jan.2022 MeatLoafembodiedrock’n’rollinallitspromiseanddecay. — DominicGreen,WSJ,21Jan.2022 Becausebaobabsdonotformregulartreerings,scientistsanalyzedBigTree’scarbondecaytodetermineitwasanimpressive1,150yearsold. — NikkOgasa,ScientificAmerican,20Jan.2022 Themostrecentfire,where17peopledied,ishorrific,butnotwithoutcontextintheBronx,aboroughwhoseverymentionstillconjuresimagesoffireanddecay. — NewYorkTimes,20Jan.2022 There'salsotheunusualperformanceoftheJ&Jvaccine,whichappearstoseeamoregradualriseanddecayofprotectionagainstseveredisease. — JohnTimmer,ArsTechnica,13Jan.2022 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'decay.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore PhrasesContainingdecay betadecay fallintodecay betadecay fallintodecay FirstKnownUseofdecay Verb 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatintransitivesense4Noun 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense2 HistoryandEtymologyfordecay VerbandNoun MiddleEnglish,fromAnglo-Frenchdecaïr,fromLateLatindecaderetofall,sink,fromLatinde-+caderetofall—moreatchance LearnMoreAboutdecay Sharedecay PosttheDefinitionofdecaytoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofdecayonTwitter TimeTravelerfordecay Thefirstknownuseofdecaywas inthe15thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster 'Decadent':LuxuryorDecay? 'Decadent':LuxuryorDecay? Thatdessertmightkillyou,etymologically DictionaryEntriesNeardecay Decauville decay decayable SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsfordecay LastUpdated 25Feb2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Decay.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decay.Accessed2Mar.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsfordecay decay verb de·​cay |\di-ˈkā \ decayed;decaying KidsDefinitionofdecay (Entry1of2) 1 :tobreakdownorcausetobreakdownslowlybynaturalprocesses Fruitdecayedontheground.Sugardecaysteeth. 2 :toslowlyworsenincondition Theoldtheaterdecayed. decay noun KidsDefinitionofdecay (Entry2of2) 1 :theprocessorresultofslowlybreakingdownbynaturalprocesses Theschoolhousebeingdesertedsoonfelltodecay…—WashingtonIrving,"SleepyHollow" 2 :agradualworseningincondition adecayinmanners 3 :anaturalchangeofaradioactiveelementintoanotherformofthesameelementorintoadifferentelement decay intransitiveverb de·​cay |\di-ˈkā \ Medical Definitionofdecay (Entry1of2) :toundergodecomposition transitiveverb :todestroybydecomposition decay noun Medical Definitionofdecay (Entry2of2) 1a :rotsense1 specifically :aerobicdecompositionofproteinschieflybybacteria b :theproductofdecay 2a :spontaneousdecreaseinthenumberofradioactiveatomsinradioactivematerial b :spontaneousdisintegration(asofanatomoranuclearparticle) MorefromMerriam-Websterondecay Nglish:TranslationofdecayforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofdecayforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutdecay WORDOFTHEDAY kitsch SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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