Lexic.us

Definition of Decay

1. Noun. The process of gradually becoming inferior.

2. Verb. Lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current. "The particles disintegrated during the nuclear fission process"

3. Noun. A gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current.

4. Verb. Fall into decay or ruin. "The unoccupied house started to decay"

5. Noun. The organic phenomenon of rotting.

6. Verb. Undergo decay or decomposition. "The body started to decay and needed to be cremated"

7. Noun. An inferior state resulting from the process of decaying. "The house had fallen into a serious state of decay and disrepair"

8. Noun. The spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance along with the emission of ionizing radiation.

Definition of Decay

1. v. i. To pass gradually from a sound, prosperous, or perfect state, to one of imperfection, adversity, or dissolution; to waste away; to decline; to fail; to become weak, corrupt, or disintegrated; to rot; to perish; as, a tree decays; fortunes decay; hopes decay.

2. v. t. To cause to decay; to impair.

3. n. Gradual failure of health, strength, soundness, prosperity, or of any species of excellence or perfection; tendency toward dissolution or extinction; corruption; rottenness; decline; deterioration; as, the decay of the body; the decay of virtue; the decay of the Roman empire; a castle in decay.

Definition of Decay

1. Noun. The process or result of being gradually decomposed. ¹

2. Noun. A deterioration of condition. ¹

3. Verb. (intransitive) To deteriorate, to get worse, to lose strength or health, to decline in quality. ¹

4. Verb. (intransitive of organic material) To rot, to go bad. ¹

5. Verb. (intransitive transitive physics chemistry of an unstable atom) To change by undergoing fission, by emitting radiation, or by capturing or losing one or more electrons. ¹

6. Verb. (intransitive transitive physics of a quantum system) To undergo optical decay, that is, to relax to a less excited state, usually by emitting a photon or phonon. ¹

7. Verb. (aviation) ¹

8. Verb. (transitive) To cause to rot or deteriorate. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Decay

1. to decompose [v -ED, -ING, -S] - See also: decompose

Medical Definition of Decay

1. To pass gradually from a sound, prosperous, or perfect state, to one of imperfection, adversity, or dissolution; to waste away; to decline; to fail; to become weak, corrupt, or disintegrated; to rot; to perish; as, a tree decays; fortunes decay; hopes decay. "Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates and men decay." (Goldsmith) Origin: OF. Decaeir, dechaer, decheoir, F. Dechoir, to decline, fall, become less; L. De- + cadere to fall. See Chance. 1. Gradual failure of health, strength, soundness, prosperity, or of any species of excellence or perfection; tendency toward dissolution or extinction; corruption; rottenness; decline; deterioration; as, the decay of the body; the decay of virtue; the decay of the Roman empire; a castle in decay. "Perhaps my God, though he be far before, May turn, and take me by the hand, and more - May strengthen my decays." (Herbert) "His [Johnson's] failure was not to be ascribed to intellectual decay." (Macaulay) "Which has caused the decay of the consonants to follow somewhat different laws." (James Byrne) 2. Destruction; death. 3. Cause of decay. "He that plots to be the only figure among ciphers, is the decay of the whole age." (Bacon) Synonym: Decline, consumption. See Decline. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Decay

decasyllable decasyllables decatenation decatenatory decatetraene decatetraenes decathlete decathletes decathlon decathlons

decatoic decatriene decatrienes decavanadate decavanadates decay (current term) decay accelerating factor decay constant decay modes decay theory

decayable decayed decayedness decayer decayers decayeth decaying decayless decays deccagynous

Literary usage of Decay

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Popular Science Monthly by Harry Houdini Collection (Library of Congress) (1886)
"necks and holds them with firmness ; it ia a sight once seen never to be forgotten, for their presence shows the decay that has taken place, and conveys an ..."

2. Journal by Institution of Electrical Engineers Radio Section (1874)
"decay OF TIMBER The following report was written and submitted to the Electric and International Telegraph Company on May 14th, 1860 :— " I have devoted ..."

3. The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture: A Discussion for the Amateur, and ...by Liberty Hyde Bailey by Liberty Hyde Bailey (1917)
"Soundness and freedom from decay or deterioration are fundamental to profitable marketing, therefore to successful fruit-growing. ..."

4. Proceedings by American Society of Civil Engineers (1907)
"Heat, to some degree (from 60 to 100° fahr. is most preferable), is necessary for a prolific growth of decay; too great a degree of heat will kill it, ..."

5. Science by American Association for the Advancement of Science (1898)
"Another aquarium, however, was started, and decay-producing fungi and bacteria were ... The process of decay went on very rapidly in the latter aquarium, ..."

6. The Cambridge Modern History by John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton Acton, Adolphus William Ward, George Walter Prothero, Ernest Alfred Benians (1902)
"The decay of Hungary and Bohemia was unexpected and has always offered one of the most perplexing problems of modern history. About the middle, and still ..."

7. A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism by James Clerk Maxwell (1881)
"decay OF CURRENTS IN THE SHEET. If we also write for — — , the single symbol R, which represents - TT a. certain velocity, the equation between P and P' ..."

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