rust.
The deteriorated state of iron or steel as a result of moisture and oxidation; it consists mostly of iron(III) oxide (ferric oxide) and iron(II) oxide (ferrous oxide).
Meaning & usage
The deteriorated state of iron or steel as a result of moisture and oxidation; it consists mostly of iron(III) oxide (ferric oxide) and iron(II) oxide (ferrous oxide).
The rust on my bicycle chain made cycling to work very dangerous.
A similar substance based on another metal.
copper rust
A reddish-brown color.
A disease of plants caused by a reddish-brown fungus (Pucciniales).
Damage caused to stamps and album pages by a fungal infection.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English rust, rost, roust, from Old English rust, rūst (“rust”), from Proto-West Germanic *rust, from Proto-Germanic *rustaz (“rust”), from Proto-Indo-European *rudʰso- (“red”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”). Cognate with Scots roust (“rust”), Saterland Frisian rust (“rust”), West Frisian roast (“rust”), Dutch roest (“rust”), German Rost (“rust”), Danish rust (“rust”), Swedish rost (“rust”), Norwegian rust, ryst (“rust”), Finnish ruoste, Estonian rooste. Related to red.
To oxidize, especially of iron or steel.
The patio furniture had rusted in the wind-driven spray.
To cause to oxidize.
The wind-driven spray had thoroughly rusted the patio furniture.
To be affected with the parasitic fungus called rust.
To (cause to) degenerate in idleness; to make or become dull or impaired by inaction.
My knowledge of Spanish has rusted over the years.
Of a black cat or its fur, to turn rust-coloured following long periods of exposure to sunlight.
It's very common for black cats to rust during the summer.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English rusten, from the noun (see above).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.