rote

CEFRB2

/ɹəʊt/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Learning or repeating something from memory without understanding it.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    By repetition or practice and without much thought.

Examples

  • You'll have to learn all these dates by rote.

  • Egyptian schools teach rote learning.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
2
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /ɹoʊt/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. To go out by rotation or succession; to rotate.

  2. Mechanical routine; a fixed, habitual, repetitive, or mechanical course of procedure.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To learn or repeat by rote.

More examples

In context

  • He could perform by rote any of his roles in Shakespeare.

  • The Model of it was, That a third Part of the Senate or Parliament, ſhould rote out by Ballot every Year; […].

  • The pastoral scenes from those commercials don’t bear too much resemblance to the rote of daily life on a farm.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The student learned the multiplication tables through blank memorization without understanding.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English rote (“custom, habit, wont, condition, state”), further origin unknown. Found in the Middle English phrase bi rote (“by heart, according to form, expertly”), c. 1300. Some have proposed a relationship either with Old French rote/rute (“route”), or Latin rota (“wheel”) (see rotary), but the OED calls both suggestions groundless. Another explanation might be the metaphorical comparison between anything repetitive and playing the rote.