rot

Compared meaning: to break down and rot, especially organic matter (verb).

比较义项：腐烂、分解（动词）。

• rot 本词

  Rot is the everyday, informal word for organic material spoiling through bacteria or fungi; it often implies something has become spoiled, weak or unusable, and is common with food, wood or teeth.

  rot是日常、口语化的词，指有机物因细菌或真菌而腐坏；常暗示某物已经变质、脆弱或不能再用，常用于食物、木头或牙齿。

  The teeth will rot quickly if you eat too much sugar.

  如果吃太多糖，牙齿很快就会腐烂。

• decompose

  Decompose is a more formal, often scientific word for organic matter breaking down step by step into simpler substances; it fits contexts about nature, ecology or long time spans, and is rarely used for food going bad.

  decompose是较正式、常见于科学语境的词，指有机物逐步分解为更简单的物质；常出现在关于自然、生态或长时间跨度的语境中，很少用来指食物变质。

  Plastic bottles can take hundreds of years to decompose.

  塑料瓶可能需要数百年才能分解。

Rot and decompose both mean to break down and go bad. Rot is more everyday, describing things spoiling from bacteria, common for food or wood. Decompose is more formal, describing organic matter breaking down into simpler substances, often in nature or science.

这两个词在“腐烂、分解”这一义项上意思相近，容易混淆：rot是更口语化的词，强调因细菌或真菌而变质、发臭，常用于食物、木头、牙齿等；decompose更正式，强调有机物通过自然过程逐步分解为更简单的物质，常见于生态、科学或长时间跨度的语境。两个词在这里都只取“腐烂、分解”这一义项，不涉及其他含义。