Etymology 1

Noun

1. The process of learning or committing something to memory through repetition, in a mechanical way, usually by hearing and repeating aloud, often without full attention to comprehension or thought for the meaning.

   They didn’t have copies of the music for everyone, so most of us had to learn the song by rote.

   • 2009, Jim Holt, Got Poetry?

     But memorize them we did, in big painful chunks, by rote repetition.

2. Mechanical routine; a fixed, habitual, repetitive, or mechanical course of procedure.

   The pastoral scenes from those commercials don’t bear too much resemblance to the rote of daily life on a farm.

Usage notes

• Commonly found in the phrase "by rote" and in attributive use: "rote learning", "rote memorization", and so on.
• Often used pejoratively in comparison with "deeper" learning that leads to "understanding".

Etymology 2

Noun

1. The roar of the surf; the sound of waves breaking on the shore.

Verb

Verb

1. to untidy, to make a mess
2. to fool around (engage in casual or flirtatious sexual acts)