Other

moot

Pronunciation: /muːt/

Translate moot | into German | into Italian

Definition of moot

adjective

1subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty:whether the temperature rise was mainly due to the greenhouse effect was a moot point

2North American having little or no practical relevance:the whole matter is becoming increasingly moot

verb

[with object]

raise (a question or topic) for discussion; suggest (an idea or possibility):the scheme was first mooted last October

noun

1 historical an assembly held for debate, especially in Anglo-Saxon and medieval times.
a regular gathering of people having a common interest.

2 Law a mock judicial proceeding set up to examine a hypothetical case as an academic exercise: the object of a moot is to provide practice in developing an argument

Origin:

Old English mōt 'assembly or meeting' and mōtian 'to converse', of Germanic origin; related to meet¹. The adjective (originally an attributive noun use: see moot court) dates from the mid 16th century; the current verb sense dates from the mid 17th century

Note that a question subject to debate or dispute is a moot point, not a mute point. As moot is a relatively uncommon word people sometimes interpret it as the more familiar word mute.

moot in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of moot in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

More results for moot

Subscriber login

Library card login