open to discussion or debate; debatable; doubtful: Whether that was the cause of their troubles is a moot point.
of little or no practical value, meaning, or relevance; purely academic: In practical terms, the issue of her application is moot because the deadline has passed.
Chiefly Law. not actual; theoretical; hypothetical.
verb (used with object)
to present or introduce (any point, subject, project, etc.) for discussion.
to reduce or remove the practical significance of; make purely theoretical or academic.
Archaic. to argue (a case), especially in a mock court.
noun
an assembly of the people in early England exercising political, administrative, and judicial powers.
an argument or discussion, especially of a hypothetical legal case.
Obsolete. a debate, argument, or discussion.
Origin of moot
1
First recorded before 900; Middle English mot(e) “meeting, assembly,” Old English gemōt; cognate with Old Norse mōt, Dutch gemoet “meeting.” See meet1
SYNONYMS FOR moot
1 disputable, disputed, unsettled.
4 debate, dispute, discuss.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR moot ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR moot
1 indisputable.
4 agree.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR moot ON THESAURUS.COM
historical usage of moot
The modern noun moot comes from the Old English mōt “meeting, court,” typically used in compounds such as gemōt “(legislative or judicial) assembly, council,” folcmōt, folcgemōt “popular assembly (of a town or shire),” and witena gemōt “assembly of wise men.” Nouns in other Germanic languages related to mōt include Old Saxon mōt (Old Saxon was the earliest recorded form of Low German; it was spoken in northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, and southern Denmark) and Middle High German muoz. All of these nouns derive from Germanic mōta-, from which was derived the verb mōtjan, which becomes mōtian in Old Saxon, mētan and moeta in Old English, and meet in modern English. In 16th-century England, a moot was “a hypothetical case or point for law students to practice on.” This is where we get the terms moot point and moot court.Moot later developed the sense “open to discussion, debatable, doubtful,” and finally “impossible to be settled.” In American legal usage in the first half of the 19th century, moot developed an additional sense “having no effect, purely academic, abstract” (now used only outside legal contexts), but American usage also retained the original sense “remaining open for debate or consideration,” leaving the meaning of moot point in conversation up for grabs: Is it a debatable point, or irrelevant?
OTHER WORDS FROM moot
mooter,nounmootness,noun
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH moot
moot , mute
Words nearby moot
Moose Jaw, moosemilk, moose pasture, Moose River, moosewood, moot, moot court, moot hall, moot point, mop, mopani
Definition for moot (2 of 2)
moot2
[ moot ]
/ mut /
noun
a ring gauge for checking the diameters of treenails.
verb (used with object)
to bring (a treenail) to the proper diameter with a moot.
Origin of moot
2
1805–15; special use of dial. moot tree-stump, block of wood; cognate with Dutch moot piece
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The question of whether the story is fit for publication is now moot.
mootsThis internet slang is particularly popular among K-pop fans on Twitter. Do you know what it's short for?
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