“Rout” or “Route”—Which to use?

“Rout” or “Route”

Overview

rout / route are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

rout: (noun) an overwhelming defeat. (verb) cause to flee. (verb) dig with the snout. (verb) make a groove in.

route: (verb) send documents or materials to appropriate destinations. (verb) send via a specific route. (verb) divert in a specified direction.

Pronunciation

rout: r·AW·t

route: r·UW·t

Trends

📈 See Trends

Looking for a tool that handles this for you wherever you write?

Get Sapling

Examples in Context

Examples of “rout”

…Federal Army from a complete rout following the Battle of Chickamauga.
…ford in an attempt to rout the retreating Union Army but…
…run to win in a rout, 90-60.
…the flow of refugees, the rout of our troops even though…
…Starbuck's K Company, begins the rout of the Union forces.
…the regular season, a 4–0 rout of D.C. United at Providence
…Red River and managed to rout them and capture 70 of…
After the Annual rout, Spanish morale collapsed and there…
An absolute rout of Threecastles took place and…
…rebound from the previous week's rout in the first outdoor NFL…

Examples of “route”

…once entirely electrified along its route.
…between Piñalito Norte and Provincial Route 19 is under construction.
…road is co-signed with Kentucky Route 841 (KY 841).
…Department (DAC) confirms the airplane’s route.
…freeway is concurrent with Kentucky Route 841.
The Kidwelly route was used for coal trains,…
Kentucky Route 841 (KY 841) is a…
Virginia State Route 239 (1942)
The route is a partial beltway, encircling…
In 1958, the first Route de Chill Mhantáin was held,…

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

Too Much to Remember?

Install Sapling