rout
 I. rout1 (rout)n.
1.
a. A disorderly retreat or flight following defeat.
b. An overwhelming defeat.
2.
a. A disorderly crowd of people; a mob.
b. People of the lowest class; rabble.
3. A public disturbance; a riot.
4. A company, as of knights or wolves, that are in movement. See Synonyms at flock1.
5. A fashionable gathering.tr.v. rout·ed, rout·ing, routs
1. To put to disorderly flight or retreat: “the flock of starlings which Jasper had routed with his gun” (Virginia Woolf).
2. To defeat overwhelmingly. See Synonyms at defeat. [Middle English route, from Old French, troop, defeat, from Vulgar Latin *rupta, from feminine of Latin ruptus, past participle of rumpere, to break. See reup- in Indo-European Roots.] II. rout2 (rout)v. rout·ed, rout·ing, routsv. intr.
1. To dig with the snout; root.
2. To poke around; rummage.v. tr.
1. To expose to view as if by digging; uncover.
2. To hollow, scoop, or gouge out.
3. To drive or force out as if by digging; eject:
rout out an informant.
4. Archaic. To dig up with the snout. [Variant of root2.] III. rout3 (rout, ro͞ot)intr.v. Chiefly British rout·ed, rout·ing, routs
To bellow. Used of cattle. [Middle English routen, to roar, from Old Norse rauta.]
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