How to use rout in a sentence

25 example sentences · noun, verb

Rout means a group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular (archaic), a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone. Example: “The rout of the enemy was complete.”

Examples of rout by meaning

nounA group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular (archaic), a group of people accompanying or travelling...

'Is there anyone in this rout with authority to treat with me?' he asked.1955, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 315

nounA group or assortment of snails.

hiruvananthapuram: Routs of snails are invading parts of the city, sending residents into a tizzy, amid fears that they would pose a health hazardAugust 4, 2011, Mohamed Nazeer, “Archived copy”, in The Hindu News, archived from the original on 20 Sep 2018
We spot several routs of snails moving around, half buried in the sandy beach.2022 December 15, Tania Banerjee, “Offbeat Mumbai: A shorewalk in Juhu”, in Azure Sky Follows
Researchers in Japan have altered the destiny of a rout of snails by changing the chirality of their shells before birth.26 Nov 2009, James Dacey, “Snail shell spiral switched”, in Physics World

nounA group of (often violent) criminals or gangsters; such people as a class; (more generally) a disorderly and tumultuous...

For it was clearly in search of her that the rabble rout had come.1938, Edith Wharton, chapter IV, in Gaillard [Thomas] Lapsley, editor, The Buccaneers, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton-Century...

nounThe act of completely defeating an army or other enemy force, causing it to retreat in a disorganized manner; (by...

The rout of the enemy was complete.
The visiting football team was put to rout.

nounThe retreat of an enemy force, etc., in this manner; also (archaic, rare), the army, enemy force, etc., so retreating.

And the authorities in Moscow presented the rout in the northeast as a planned “regrouping.”2022 September 11, Andrew E. Kramer, Andrew Higgins, “Ukraine Routs Russian Forces in Northeast, Forcing a Retreat”, in The New York Times...
Small contingents of Russian troops across the country have tried to train the Syrian army into a more professional force (the rout in Aleppo suggests those efforts have gone poorly).2024 December 4, “Syria’s Bashar al-Assad is in mortal danger”, in The Economist, →ISSN

verbTo completely defeat and force into disorderly retreat (an enemy force, opponent in sport, etc.).

They write with eloquence against the men, using the men’s own language to embarrass them and sometimes even to rout them.1977, Larry Mitchell, “It Takes All Kinds to Make the Revolutions”, in The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions, New York, N.Y....
Israel tightened its blockade of the Gaza Strip after Hamas routed secular Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and seized control of the enclave in June 2007.2009 January 30, Adam Entous, “Mitchell Warns of Setbacks ahead in Mideast Talks”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 02 Feb 2009

verbTo retreat from a confrontation in disorder.

The Ra division broke in panic and fled up against the just-arriving Amon division, which as a result began to rout as well.2005, Brian Todd Carey, “Warfare in the Ancient Near East: The Bronze and Early Iron Ages”, in Warfare in the Ancient World, Barnsley...

verbUsually followed by from: to compel (someone) to leave a place; specifically (usually followed by out or up), to cause...

Nevertheless, he was always stimulated by Winsett, and whenever he caught sight of the journalist's lean bearded face and melancholy eyes he would rout him out of his corner and carry him off for a long talk.1920, Edith Wharton, chapter XIV, in The Age of Innocence, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, book I, page 122

More sentences with rout

The strong baseball team really roughed up the bullpen in their 34-0 rout against their foes; the coach used nine relievers and they still couldn't get anybody out.From the entry rough up the bullpen
A tribe of North Carolina Indians routs the Ku Klux Klan.1958 February 3, “Clipped Quips”, in Kilgore News Herald, 28th year, number 29, Kilgore, Tex., page 4. From the entry deluxe
'Is there any in this rout with authority to treat with me?' he asked.1955, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, George Allen & Unwin. From the entry treat
Rout to have steam up to-morrow afternoon at one o'clock sharp."1919, Joseph Conrad, Typhoon, page 8. From the entry steam up
I have visions of roast partridge and rout cakes, but instead we are given a quinoa salad and stone bass.2025 May 10, Jemima Kelly, “My week with Jane Austen”, in FT Weekend (Travel section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC…. From the entry Austenesque
The Mustangs emphatically punched their ticket to the Canadian college football final with a 61-6 rout of visiting St.2021 November 27, “Western, Saskatchewan advance to Vanier Cup in very different ways”, in The Toronto Star, Canada, archived from the…. From the entry punch someone's ticket
His weaponsmasters had always said that the difference between a retreat and a rout was the difference between living and dying.2007, Michelle West, The Hidden City (A House War Novel), DAW Books, published 2009, →ISBN, page 382. From the entry weaponsmaster
Dom was no less nervous about the prospect of returning to the dump for a replay of yesterday’s rout.1981, Jake MacDonald, chapter 9, in Indian River: A Novel, Winnipeg, Man.: Queenston House, →ISBN, page 67. From the entry mumma bear
It initiates the tactical conception which routs Black's hopes.1961 February, Max Euwe, “How to Win in the Ending”, in Chess Review. From the entry initiate
This is a panic, this is a rout.”1952, C. S. Lewis, chapter 12, in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Collins, published 1998. From the entry poltroonery
Hutchinson, to 'spit fire out of their pulpits,' and even the rout of their allies at Dunbar, though it made their tongues less dangerous, did not make them more smooth.2011, Thomas Hill Green, R. L. Nettleship, Works of Thomas Hill Green, →ISBN, page 332. From the entry spit fire
From the darkness came the howls of routs of wolves and bands of coyotes, the rumbling growls of a sleuth of bears or the bugles of a gang of elk.2007, Elinor DeWire, The Lightkeepers’ Menagerie: Stories of Animals at Lighthouses, page 200. From the entry sleuth

Meaning of rout

noun A group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular (archaic), a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone.
noun A group of animals, especially one which is lively or unruly, or made up of wild animals such as wolves; a flock, a herd, a pack.
noun A group or assortment of snails.

Full definition of rout

Questions about rout in a sentence

How do you use rout in a sentence?: Rout is used as a noun and verb. For example: “The rout of the enemy was complete.”
What is a short sentence with rout?: “The rout of the enemy was complete.”
What does rout mean?: Rout means a group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular (archaic), a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone.

Adapted from Wiktionary: rout (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use rout in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/rout. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.