From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishroutrout1 /raʊt/ verb [transitive] PBEAT/DEFEATto defeat someone completely in a battle, competition, or election→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
rout• Ras Gugsa was killed and his army routed.• The Seattle SuperSonics routed Atlanta 111-88.• He had been moving towards resignation since being routed by Mr Smith in the July leadership election.• It was routed by the Republican-controlled Congress.• The general was killed and his armies were routed in a magnificent cavalry charge.• The Australians have once again routed the English cricket team.• Again, the faxes are technically routed through Bangkok.• Early on, it appeared the Clippers would rout Toronto, taking a 33-17 lead.routrout2 noun [countable usually singular, uncountable] PBEAT/DEFEATa complete defeat in a battle, competition, or election The battle turned into a rout.put somebody to rout (=defeat someone completely)Examples from the Corpus
rout• A 3-0 rout of Canada qualified the U.S. for the World Cup.• It turned into a rout, more thorough than anyone could have imagined.• The game was a rout, with the home team winning by 10 goals to nil.• Indeed, even amid the rout, some bellwether high-tech companies continue to report strong results.• Dorian West emerged for a sharp run before Cohen appeared at even greater pace for the try that began the rout.• Three more conversions by Strett completed the rout.• General Lee had reached the scene and was in command during the rout of the Federals.• Stock prices followed the rout in bonds in the morning only to zigzag to record highs in the afternoon.• Barnes started the rout, bewildering two defenders before supplying the perfect cross for Steve Mcmanaman to head in.Origin rout2 (1200-1300) Old French route “group of people, defeat”, from Latin rupta, from ruptus “broken” 