decay
decay definition
de·cay (dē kā′, di-)
intransitive verb
- to lose strength, soundness, health, beauty, prosperity, etc. gradually; waste away; deteriorate
- to rot or decompose
- to undergo radioactive disintegration spontaneously
Etymology: ME decaien < Anglo-Fr & OFr decäir < VL *decadere: see decadence
transitive verb
to cause to decay
noun
- a gradual decline; deterioration
- a wasting away
- a rotting or decomposing, as of vegetable matter
- rottenness
- decayed or rotted matter
- the spontaneous disintegration of radioactive atoms with a resulting decrease in their number
- 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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