English Dictionary

decay

/dɪˈkeɪ/

verb

(intransitive, electronics, of storage media or the data on them) To undergo bit rot, that is, gradual degradation.

The old tree began to decay after years of neglect.

意味（1）

(intransitive, electronics, of storage media or the data on them) To undergo bit rot, that is, gradual degradation.

意味（2）

(intransitive, computing, of software) To undergo software rot, that is, to fail to be updated in a changing environment, so as to eventually become legacy or obsolete.

意味（3）

(intransitive, physics, of a satellite's orbit) To undergo prolonged reduction in altitude (above the orbited body).

Damaged on lift-off, Skylab was left in orbit until its orbit decayed.

意味（4）

(intransitive, of organic material) To rot, to go bad.

The cat's body decayed rapidly.

意味（5）

(intransitive, transitive, physics, chemistry, of an unstable atom) To change by undergoing fission, by emitting radiation, or by capturing or losing one or more electrons; to undergo radioactive decay.

Uranium decays to radium through a long series of steps with a cumulative half-life of 4.4 billion years.

意味（6）

(intransitive, transitive, physics, of a quantum system) To undergo optical decay, that is, to relax to a less excited state, usually by emitting a photon or phonon.

意味（7）

(intransitive, aviation) Loss of airspeed due to drag.

意味（8）

(transitive) To cause to rot or deteriorate.

The extreme humidity decayed the wooden sculptures in the museum's collection in a matter of years.

意味（9）

(programming, intransitive) Of an array: to lose its type and dimensions and be reduced to a pointer, for example when passed to a function.