decay
Rot; any processes or result of organic matter being gradually decomposed, especially…Rot; any processes or result of organic matter being gradually decomposed, especially by microbial action.
» Salt helps to preserve food from decay.
Salz macht Nahrungsmittel länger haltbar. — ELPHONY
Salz konserviert Lebensmittel. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
7 senses(uncountable, usually)Rot; any processes or result of organic matter being gradually decomposed, especially by microbial action.
tooth decay/dental decay—wood-decay fungi—bacterial decay—photochemical decay
Verfall, Verwesung, Fäulnis
разложе́ниеrazložénije, распа́дraspád, гние́ниеgnijénije
розпадrozpad, розпаданняrozpadannja, розкладrozklad
(uncountable, usually)Deterioration of condition; loss of status, quality, strength, or fortune.
civic and moral decay—systemic decay—fall into decay—urban decay—arrested decay—memory decay
упа́докupádok, спадspad
(uncountable, usually)Radioactive decay; decomposition of an atom or its nucleus.
alpha decay—gamma decay—fission decay—decay chain
(uncountable, usually)Particle decay; decomposition of a sub-atomic particle.
(uncountable, usually)Continuous decrease of a quantity.
exponential decay—decay rate—orbital decay—decay time—decay constant—time decay
(uncountable, usually)Array decay.
(obsolete, uncountable, usually)Overthrow, destruction, ruin, death.
- the organic phenomenon of rotting
- a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current
- the process of gradually becoming inferior
- the spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance along with the emission of ionizing radiation
Examples
80 sentencesSalt helps to preserve food from decay.
deSalz macht Nahrungsmittel länger haltbar. — ELPHONY
The apple has begun to decay.
ruЯблоко начало портиться. — Balamax
Meat decays quickly in warm weather.
ruВ тёплую погоду мясо быстро портится. — marafon
The refrigerator preserves food from decay.
I had my decayed tooth removed.
ruМне вырвали гнилой зуб. — Wezel
deMein fauler Zahn wurde entfernt. — Dani6187
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English decaien (“to decrease, diminish”) and decai (“deterioration, decline iFrom Middle English decaien (“to decrease, diminish”) and decai (“deterioration, decline in value”), from Anglo-Norman decaeir (“to fall away, decay, decline”), from Vulgar Latin *dēcadere, etymologically restored form of Latin dēcidere (“to fall down, to fail, sink or perish”), from de- (“of, from, away, down”) + cadere (“to fall”). Compare decadent and decadence.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: decays| Singular | decay |
|---|
uncountable
Synonyms
5 synonyms- the organic phenomenon of rotting:decomposition
- a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current:decline
- the spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance along with the emission of ionizing radiation:radioactive decaydisintegration
Word family
35 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.