as in rots
to form rust
The old car was left to rust in the yard of the abandoned house.
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Recent Examples of rusts
The red planet owes its distinctive hue to an oxidizing process that rusts iron present in the rocks and dust of Mars.
—
Anthony Wood, Space.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Anthony Wood, Space.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rusts
Verb
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The big differences between the labs probably reflect the fact that, as Italians like to say, the fish rots from the head.—
Caroline Mimbs Nyce,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
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Bacterial plant diseases include speck (a winter-surviving infection that attacks tomatoes), canker (which damages fruit trees including those producing apples and peaches), and blight (which rots melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, beans, and more).—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The research team developed a route-planning system for Astrobee, the ISS’s robotic assistant, that leverages sequential convex programming—a method that decomposes complex trajectory planning into smaller, tractable steps while guaranteeing safety and feasibility.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Dec. 2025
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Shilajit is a mineral-rich resin that forms over centuries as plant material slowly decomposes under heat and pressure within the rocks of the Himalayan Mountains.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Verywell Health,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Grief gets layered on top of grief and secrets stack sky high as suburban normalcy decays into something at once alarmingly unstable and comfortingly funny.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
19 Dec. 2025
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This famously happens when a quantum object is measured, but in this case, the mystery crops up when the top quark decays into lighter particles.—
Shalma Wegsman,
Quanta Magazine,
25 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Long before neuroscience confirmed it, the sages understood that sustained outrage narrows perception, impairs judgment, and corrodes community.—
Rabbi Bruce D. Forman,
Sun Sentinel,
10 Feb. 2026
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Saltwater corrodes the moving parts, and marine life like barnacles can jam blades.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The entire composition is then exposed to a corrosive liquid, which oxidizes the copper in the textile, drawing out a chemical-looking green that circulates through the narrow channels between the foil sheets.—
Theo Belci,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
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The main ingredient is sodium perborate or sodium percarbonate which when introduced to water, oxidizes to help remove soil and stains and to cut through residual build-up that leaves fabric dull.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rusts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rusts. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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