Definition

1. Verb (intransitive):
   • To decay or decompose gradually, especially through the natural process of rotting. This refers to the slow breakdown of organic matter, often due to fungi or bacteria, resulting in a crumbling or powdery state.
   • To fall into a state of neglect, ruin, or disintegration. This can describe physical structures or, metaphorically, abstract things like plans or institutions slowly falling apart from lack of use or care.

Examples of Usage

• Verb:
  • The old books were left to moulder in the damp cellar.
  • Without maintenance, the historic castle will slowly moulder away.
  • Plans for the new park mouldered in a filing cabinet for years.

Advanced Usage

• "to moulder away": to decay or waste away completely over time.
  • The abandoned ship mouldered away at the dock.

Variants and Related Words

• Mold (Verb, US spelling): The American English spelling of the verb meaning to decay. (e.g., )
• Mould (Verb, UK spelling): The British English spelling of the verb meaning to decay. (e.g., )
• Mouldering (Adjective): In the process of decaying. (e.g., )

Synonyms

• Decompose: To rot or decay.
• Decay: To undergo decomposition.
• Rot: To decompose and putrefy.
• Crumble: To break down into small fragments, often due to decay or age.

Phrasal Verbs

• Moulder away: To gradually decay until little or nothing remains.
  • The old wooden fence has completely mouldered away.

Related Idioms

• To lie mouldering: To remain unused and decaying over a long period.
  • The secret documents lay mouldering in the attic for decades.

Verb

1. break down
   • The bodies decomposed in the heat