How to Use dry rot in a Sentence

dry rot

noun
  • Dry rot had eaten away part of the beam.
  • The windowsill was badly damaged by dry rot.
  • But those bungee cords will dry rot, or simply wear out, over time.
    — Joseph Albanese, Outdoor Life, 28 May 2020
  • Cold weather can freeze the rubber, while heat can lead to dry rot.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Nov. 2025
  • Wood in a humid, warm crawl space can also develop dry rot.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 30 Apr. 2026
  • The wood sold nowadays is new growth that does not fare well when exposed to sun, rain, termites or dry rot.
    — Pat Kapowich, The Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2019
  • Faulty wiring, asbestos, and dry rot are just a few less-than-ideal surprises.
    — House Beautiful, 30 Dec. 2022
  • True, my daydreams don’t include finding dry rot, black mold, ruptured pipes, or snake dens.
    — Marni Jameson, orlandosentinel.com, 24 Dec. 2021
  • Soft spots may indicate wet or dry rot, especially if the floor above sags.
    — Jim Gorman, Popular Mechanics, 30 Mar. 2015
  • But then, as the months dragged by, something happened to me, something that might be called patriotic dry rot.
    — Bruce Handy, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2021
  • Inspect your roof for problems that lead to leaks and possible dry rot and structural damage from water.
    — oregonlive, 15 May 2022
  • The media covers it as a flash fire, not as a symptom of more dry rot in the crumbling of decorum and decency.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 21 Mar. 2026
  • Inspect the wood for dry rot by looking for spore dust, fruiting bodies of fungus, or a lingering damp or musty smell.
    — Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 July 2022
  • The doors facing the outside of my condo (original doors) have extensive dry rot.
    — Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Apr. 2022
  • Termites are entering the home due to infestation of dry rot and termites in these structures.
    — Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Apr. 2021
  • The balcony collapsed due to dry rot in supporting beams, and inspectors found that the contractor used substandard wood.
    — Michael Cabanatuan, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Jan. 2022
  • Decades of wind and rain rolling in from the North Atlantic Ocean had left the 1920s house suffering from damp and both wet and dry rot.
    — Ruth Bloomfield, wsj.com, 9 May 2023
  • Donahue later discovered a decontamination tent destroyed by dry rot.
    — Jenn Abelson, Washington Post, 2 May 2020
  • The gigantic Goodyear tires are showing signs of dry rot, and there are other signs of corrosion, but this amazing piece of history is in solid shape for a nearly 100-year-old vehicle.
    — Caleb Miller, Car and Driver, 8 Feb. 2023
  • The original kitchen cabinets had been painted a dismal harvest gold color, and dry rot had settled in behind the tile that had been inexplicably installed over the original mahogany paneling in the bathrooms.
    — Mark David, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2024
  • The challenge for leaders is to learn how to combat mental health issues that can become chronic or contagious at work, ultimately threatening the strength of a company in the same way that dry rot threatens the stability of a house.
    — Curt Steinhorst, Forbes, 27 May 2021
  • The novel, narrated beautifully by actor and singer Elizabeth Knowelden, is a potent concoction of treachery and obsession; village life and romance; dry rot and load-bearing walls.
    — Washington Post, 3 Sep. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dry rot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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