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TOEFL IELTS BNC: 6007 COCA: 7931

decay

Word family
Related topics: Biology, Chemistry
de·cay1 /dɪˈkeɪ/ ●●○ verb  
1 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]DECAY to be slowly destroyed by a natural chemical process, or to make something do this (使)腐烂;(使)变坏
 Her body was already starting to decay.
她的尸体已经开始腐烂。
 Most archaeological finds are broken, damaged, or decayed.
大部分考古发现物都已破裂、损坏或腐烂。
 decaying organic matter
腐烂的有机物
Register
In everyday English, people usually say rot rather than decay when talking about food: 在日常英语中,人们谈论食物一般说 rot ,而不用 decay
There was a smell of rotting vegetables.
有股蔬菜腐烂的味道。
2 [intransitiveI]DECAY if buildings, structures, or areas decay, their condition gradually becomes worse 〔建筑、结构或地区〕破败,毁坏
 Hundreds of historic buildings are being allowed to decay.
数百幢历史建筑被任由破败。
 Britain’s decaying inner cities
英国破败的旧城区
3 [intransitiveI]LESS if traditional beliefs, standards etc decay, people do not believe in them or support them anymore 〔传统观念、标准等〕失去影响力,衰败,衰落 SYN decline
 In Orthodox Europe, mass religion seems to have decayed less.
在正教会流行的欧洲地区,集体宗教信仰的影响力似乎衰退得没那么严重。
nTHESAURUS
decay to be slowly destroyed by a natural chemical process – use this especially about natural things such as wood or plants, or about teeth
The leaves decay and enrich the soil.
He had bad breath and decaying teeth.
The fabric slowly began to decay.
rot to decay. Rot is less formal than decay and is more common in everyday English
The fruit was left to rot on the ground.
rotting teeth
Most of the wood under the paint had rotted.
the smell of rotting vegetation (=decaying leaves and plants)
go off British EnglishBrE if food goes off, it starts to smell bad and is no longer be safe to eat
I think the milk’s gone off.
The meat smells as if it's gone off.
spoil if food spoils, it starts to decay, so that it is no longer safe to eat. Spoil is more formal and is less common in everyday British English than go off
Food left in the sun will quickly start to spoil.
go mouldy British EnglishBrE, moldy American EnglishAmE to begin to have a soft green or black substance growing on the surface of the food, so that it is not good to eat anymore
Ugh, the cheese has gone mouldy!
decompose formal to decay – use this especially about dead plants or flesh
leaves decomposing on the forest floor
putrefy formal to decay and have a very bad smell – use this especially about flesh or plants
After two days, the body was already beginning to putrefy.
putrefying meat
biodegrade to decay naturally into substances that do not harm the environment – use this especially about man-made materials and chemicals
Unlike many other materials, plastic does not biodegrade.
Examples from the Corpus
Related topics: Biology, Chemistry
decay2 ●●○ noun [uncountableU]  
1 DECAYthe natural chemical change that causes the slow destruction of something 腐烂,朽烂
 old cars in various stages of decay
损坏程度不等的旧车
 tooth decay
蛀牙
2 DESTROYthe gradual destruction of buildings, structures etc because they have not been cared for 〔疏于管理而造成建筑物等的〕破败,衰败
 poverty and urban decay
贫穷和市区的破败
fall into (a state of) decay
 During the war, the area fell into decay.
战争期间这个地区衰败了。
3 LESSthe gradual destruction of ideas, beliefs, social or political systems etc 〔观念、信仰、社会制度、政治制度等的〕衰退,没落
 moral decay
道德的败坏
nCOLLOCATIONS
verbs
cause decay
Bacteria stick to food and cause decay.
prevent decay
You can use a preservative on the wood to prevent further decay.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + decay
tooth/dental decay
Eating too much sugar causes tooth decay.
natural decay
Everything in our environment is subject to natural decay.
phrases
the process of decay
The natural processes of decay gradually destroys archaeological sites.
a sign of decay
I couldn't see any signs of decay on the fruit.
Examples from the Corpus
Origin decay1
(1400-1500) Old North French decaïr, from Late Latin decadere to fall, sink

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