moot
Noun pluralmoots
Pluralmoots
- 1No longer important in practice, so not worth arguing about except as an exercise.
Our fight about the trip is moot now that it has been canceled.
Whether we take the bus is moot, since Dad offered to drive us.
UsageSay a moot point (not
incorrect: a mute point): not worth arguing now.Similaracademic, irrelevant, pointless, immaterial
Note
- 2
- 3To make something no longer matter, or to say that it no longer matters.
The new law will moot the whole argument.
Her decision to quit mooted the question of whether she should be fired.
UsageHere mooted means made pointless, not suggested.
Note
- 4A pretend court where law students practice arguing made-up cases.
She won the final of the university's yearly moot.
Every second-year student has to take part in at least one moot.
Note
- 5Not decided, so people can still argue about it.
Whether the new road will really help traffic is a moot point.
The extent to which these Parisian radicals ‘represented’ the French people as a whole was very moot.
2002, Colin Jones, The Great NationHere, moot means open to argument and not settled.UsageIn Britain, a moot point is open to debate. Americans often use it for a point that no longer matters.
Similardebatable, arguable, disputable, questionable, unresolved
Oppositesettled, indisputable
Note
- 6A meeting of local people, held long ago, to make decisions for their area.
The farmers walked to the moot on the hill to settle their quarrel.
At the moot, the villagers decided who could use the common field.
Similarassembly
Note
Less common meanings
- 7
- 8Someone you follow online who also follows you.
Thanks to all my moots for the birthday wishes!
She became my moot after we both posted about the same band.
UsageUsually plural (moots) or used with my (my moots).
Similarmutual
Note
- 9A friendly meeting of pagans, usually held in a pub.
She went to her first moot and met other pagans over a drink.
The moot gets bigger every month, so they need a larger room at the pub.
Note
- 10A camp or meeting of Rover Scouts that usually lasts several days.
My brother is going to a moot with other Rover Scouts this summer.
At the moot, we cooked over fires and went hiking every day.
Note
- 11In many parts of Africa, a way of settling a fight that brings people back together instead of punishing them.
Instead of going to court, the two neighbors settled their fight at a moot.
At the moot, the elders listened to both families until they agreed on a fair answer.
- 12To say something, or to hint at it.
- 13Talk, or the things people say to each other.
- 14A quiet word or a hint, or stories that people pass around about others.
- 15In building wooden ships, a ring used to check the size of wooden pins.
- 16A woman's vagina.
- 17The stump of a tree, or the roots and bottom part of a tree that has been cut down.
- 18To grow roots and start to grow.
- 19To dig up soil or roots, as a pig does with its nose.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
From the Old English word ġemōt, meaning "meeting". It is related to the word meet.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Moot derives from Old English ġemōt, meaning "meeting". en.wiktionary.org
- Moot is etymologically related to meet. en.wiktionary.org
From the Old English verb mōtian, meaning "to speak" or "to discuss".
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The verb moot derives from Old English mōtian. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English mōtian meant to speak or discuss. en.wiktionary.org
A short form of mutual, said in a funny way.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Moot is a shortened form of mutual. en.wiktionary.org
- The shortened form has a humorously altered pronunciation. en.wiktionary.org