decay Hear it!

decay definition

de·cay (dē kā′, di-)

intransitive verb

  1. to lose strength, soundness, health, beauty, prosperity, etc. gradually; waste away; deteriorate
  2. to rot or decompose
  3. to undergo radioactive disintegration spontaneously

Etymology: ME decaien < Anglo-Fr & OFr decäir < VL *decadere: see decadence

transitive verb

to cause to decay

noun

  1. a gradual decline; deterioration
  2. a wasting away
  3. a rotting or decomposing, as of vegetable matter
    1. rottenness
    2. decayed or rotted matter
    1. the spontaneous disintegration of radioactive atoms with a resulting decrease in their number
    2. the spontaneous disintegration of a particle or nucleus, as a meson, baryon, etc., as it changes into a more stable state

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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