What is "rut"

Rut \Rut\, v. t. To cover in copulation.
--Dryden.

Rut \Rut\, n. [variant of route.] A track worn by a wheel or by habitual passage of anything; a groove in which anything runs. Also used figuratively.

Rut \Rut\, v. t. To make a rut or ruts in; -- chiefly used as a past participle or a participial adj.; as, a rutted road.

Rut \Rut\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Rutted; p. pr. & vb. n. Rutting.] To have a strong sexual impulse at the reproductive period; -- said of deer, cattle, etc.

Rut \Rut\, n. [F. rut, OF. ruit, L. rugitus a roaring, fr. rugire to roar; -- so called from the noise made by deer in rutting time.]

1. (Physiol.) Sexual desire or [oe]strus of deer, cattle, and various other mammals; heat; also, the period during which the [oe]strus exists.

2. Roaring, as of waves breaking upon the shore; rote. See Rote.

"narrow track worn or cut in the ground," 1570s, probably from Middle English route (see route (n.)); though OED finds this "improbable." Metaphoric meaning "narrow, monotonous routine; habitual mode of behavior" first attested 1839.

"annually recurring sexual excitement in animals; animal mating season" (originally of deer), early 15c., from Old French rut, ruit, from Late Latin rutigum (nominative rugitus) "a bellowing," from past participle of Latin rugire "to bellow," from PIE imitative root *reu-. The verb is recorded from early 15c. Related: Rutting.

Etymology 1 n. 1 (context zoology English) Sexual desire or oestrus of cattle, and various other mammals 2 Roaring, as of waves breaking upon the shore; rote. vb. 1 (context intransitive English) to be in the annual rut 2 (context intransitive English) to have sexual intercourse 3 (context transitive English) To mount or cover during copulation. Etymology 2

n. 1 (context automotive English) A furrow, groove, or track worn in the ground, as from the passage of many wheels along a road 2 A fixed routine, procedure, line of conduct, thought or feeling (See also rutter) 3 A dull routine vb. (context transitive English) To make a furrow

1. n. a groove or furrow (especially one in soft earth caused by wheels)

2. a settled and monotonous routine that is hard to escape; "they fell into a conversational rut" [syn: groove]

3. applies to nonhuman mammals: a state or period of heightened sexual arousal and activity [syn: estrus, oestrus, heat] [ant: anestrus]

4. [also: rutting, rutted]

1. v. be in a state of sexual excitement; of male mammals

2. hollow out in the form of a furrow or groove; "furrow soil" [syn: furrow, groove]

3. [also: rutting, rutted]

RUT may refer to:

• Registro Único Tributario, the Colombian unique taxpayer identification number
• Rol Único Tributario, the Chilean taxation unique contributor roll identification number
• Rutland Railway, a former railroad in the northeastern United States
• RUT (IATA), a state-owned public-use airport located in North Clarendon, Vermont
• RUT (station code), a railway station that serves Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
• RUT (software), remote control software for Windows

Rut is both a surname and a feminine German given name. Notable people with the name include:

• John Rut ( fl. 1512–1528), English mariner
• Tadeusz Rut (1931–2002), Polish athlete
• Tomasz Rut (born 1968), Polish painter
• Rut Blees Luxemburg, German photographer
• Rut Brandt (1920–2006), German writer

The rut is the mating season of ruminant animals such as deer, sheep, camel, goats, pronghorn and Asian and African antelope.

During the rut (also known as the rutting period and in domestic sheep management as tupping), males often rub their antlers or horns on trees or shrubs, fight with each other, wallow in mud or dust, self-anoint and herd estrus females together.

The rut in many species is triggered by shorter daylengths. For different species, the timing of the rut depends on the length of the gestation period ( pregnancy), usually occurring so the young are born in the spring. This is shortly after new green growth has appeared thereby providing food for the females, allowing them to provide milk for the young, and when the temperatures are warm enough to reduce the risk of young becoming hypothermic.

A rut is a depression or groove worn into a road or path by the travel of wheels or skis. Ruts can be formed by wear, as from studded snow tires common in cold climate areas, or they can form through the deformation of the asphalt concrete pavement or subbase material. Rut-like depressions can be formed on gravel roads by the erosion from flowing water.

Ruts prevent rainwater from flowing to the side of the road into ditches or gutters. Rainwater trapped in ruts is a common contributing factor to hydroplaning crashes. Severe ruts can impede steering if a vehicle has difficulty steering out of the rut. If it proves impossible to steer out of a rut, though forward and backward progress can be made by the vehicle, it is referred to as being stuck in the rut.

Ruts in gravel roads can be removed by grading the road surface. Ruts in asphalt pavement can be filled with asphalt, then overlaid with another layer of asphalt, but better results can usually be achieved by grinding off the surface to restore the proper cross slope, then resurfacing. If the ruts are formed due to deformation of the subbase below the pavement, the only long-term repair is usually full-depth reconstruction of the road.

Typically rutting is reported in terms of rut depth. Rutting is measured at highway speeds with a laser/inertial profilograph.

The term stuck in a rut can be used figuratively to refer to a situation in which, as time progresses, the situation is unable to be changed or steered in a desired way.