1.
[syn: rust, rusting]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Rust \Rust\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Rusted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Rusting.] [AS. rustian.]
1. To contract rust; to be or become oxidized.
[1913 Webster]
If gold ruste, what shall iron do? --Chaucer.
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Our armors now may rust. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. To be affected with the parasitic fungus called rust;
also, to acquire a rusty appearance, as plants.
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3. Fig.: To degenerate in idleness; to become dull or
impaired by inaction.
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Must I rust in Egypt? never more
Appear in arms, and be the chief of Greece?
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
rusting
n 1: the formation of reddish-brown ferric oxides on iron by
low-temperature oxidation in the presence of water [syn:
rust, rusting]