dry rot
/draɪ rɑt/
noun
- A fungal decay that turns wood brittle and crumbly, often caused by dampness.
- We found dry-rot in the floorboards after the pipe leak.
- Dry-rot can spread quickly if the wood stays moist for too long.
- The old shed had to be torn down because of dry-rot in the beams.
- A gradual decay or corruption in a society, organization, or system.
- Without new ideas, the club suffered from dry-rot and lost most of its members.
- Political dry-rot had weakened the government from within.
- The company's dry-rot was evident in its outdated policies and low morale.
Synonyms
verb
- To decay or cause to decay with dry-rot.
- The damp basement caused the wooden shelves to dry-rot over time.
- If you don't fix the roof, the rafters will dry-rot.
- The carpenter warned that the untreated wood would dry-rot within a year.