Meaning

noun a disorderly crowd of people

noun an overwhelming defeat

verb cause to flee

originThe noun is derived from Middle English rout, route (“group of people associated with one another, company; entourage, retinue; army; group of soldiers; group of pirates; large number of people, crowd; throng; group of disreputable people, mob; riot; group of animals; group of objects; proper condition or manner”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman route, rute, Middle French rote, route, Old…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0