Meaning & use
moot
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparableBritish
Open to argument, with no settled answer.
Grammar: Usually appears in the phrase a moot point.
Patterns
- a moot point
- a moot question
Whether the new tax will raise enough money is a moot point.
It is moot whether the painting is genuine.
The cause of the fire remains a moot question.
adjectivenot comparableAmerican
No longer important or relevant, because the situation has changed or the question has already been decided.
Grammar: Used after be, or in the phrase a moot point.
Patterns
- be moot
- a moot point
Our debate about the venue is moot now that the hall has burned down.
The question became moot when the company closed.
Her objection was moot because the vote had already passed.
verbtransitiveformal
To bring up an idea or topic for discussion.
Grammar: Usually used in the passive: it was mooted that.
Patterns
- moot something
- it has been mooted that
The idea of a four-day week was first mooted last year.
The mayor mooted a plan to ban cars from the center.
It has been mooted that the school may merge with its neighbor.
Word forms
| third person singular | moots |
|---|---|
| past tense | mooted |
| past participle | mooted |
| -ing form | mooting |
Common combinations
- moot point
- Who is to blame is a moot point.
- moot question
- Whether he will run again is a moot question.
- render moot
- The ruling rendered the dispute moot.
- become moot
- The issue became moot after the policy was withdrawn.
- moot court
- Law students practice arguments in a moot court.
- mooted idea
- The mooted idea never got further than the planning stage.
Synonyms and how they differ
- debatable
- Debatable also means open to argument and is more neutral, but it lacks moot's second sense of no longer mattering.
- academic
- Academic, in the sense of having no practical importance, matches moot's American meaning but sounds more dismissive.
- irrelevant
- Irrelevant means not related to the matter, while moot suggests a question that once mattered but no longer does.
- propose
- Propose is the plain verb for putting forward an idea, whereas moot suggests the idea is only floated for discussion.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: moot or mute?
moot vs mute
Mute means silent, so a moot point is not a mute point, though the error is common.
Practice
The question of where to hold the picnic is now ___, since it has started to snow and we are staying home.
Choose one answer.
Moot here means no longer relevant because circumstances changed. Mute, mood and moat are similar-sounding but unrelated words.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “moot”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.