1
: the use of memory usually with little intelligence
learn by rote
2
: mechanical or unthinking routine or repetition
a joyless sense of order, rote, and commercial hustle—
L. L. King
L. L. King
: the noise of surf on the shore
Examples of rote in a Sentence
Noun (1)
learned the rote for the exercise warm-up but not the reasoning behind it
Recent Examples on the Web
Anjai Lal, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Tools like Jasper, Mosaic, and Phantom Buster are empowering marketers to offload rote tasks to machines, freeing them to focus on higher-level thinking.
—Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2025
Some of the pieces in the book written before this real-life catastrophe, though, suffer from the rote world-weariness of the columnist accustomed to griping to order.
—Charles Arrowsmith, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rote
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Noun
However, too often, sales kickoffs fall short of their potential, becoming mere exercises in rote presentations and motivational platitudes.
—Anjai Lal, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Tools like Jasper, Mosaic, and Phantom Buster are empowering marketers to offload rote tasks to machines, freeing them to focus on higher-level thinking.
—Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
And so the film, for all its gore and austerity, ceases to be anything but another rote war drama, with predictable arcs that bend toward heroism.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2025
Some of the pieces in the book written before this real-life catastrophe, though, suffer from the rote world-weariness of the columnist accustomed to griping to order.
—Charles Arrowsmith, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rote
Cite this Entry
“Rote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rote. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rote
1 of 2 noun1
: the use of memory usually without thinking about it
learn by rote
repeat something by rote
2
: something done time after time in an automatic way or without thinking
rote
2 of 2 adjective1
: done or learned by rote
rote learning of multiplication tables
a rote phrase
2
: done or carried out without engaging the mind or feelings
rote duties
ask a rote question
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