Without proper ventilation, the wooden beams in the old barn began to decay rapidly.
没有适当的通风，旧谷仓里的木梁开始迅速腐烂。
Bristlecone pines, found in the high-altitude mountains of the western United States, grow extremely slowly in harsh, nutrient-poor conditions; remarkably, this slow growth, combined with wood so dense it resists insects and fungal decay, allows some individual trees to survive for over 4,000 years.
From a Central Ideas and Details question · Information and Ideas
- This differs from standard refrigeration, which slows but does not stop cellular processes and decay.
From a Rhetorical Synthesis question · Expression of Ideas
- Radiocarbon dating measures the decay of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope absorbed by living organisms, to estimate how long ago an organism died.
From a Rhetorical Synthesis question · Expression of Ideas
Which choice best defines “decay”?
B — Rot, break down. “decay” means rot, break down.
Which word means “rot, break down”?
D — decay. “decay” means rot, break down.
decay — rot, break down. In Chinese: 腐烂，衰败.
decay is pronounced /dɪˈkeɪ/.
Without proper ventilation, the wooden beams in the old barn began to decay rapidly. (没有适当的通风，旧谷仓里的木梁开始迅速腐烂。)
decompose, rot, deteriorate — all close in meaning to decay (rot, break down).
flourish, preserve — each the opposite of decay (rot, break down).
Yes. decay is on the SAT Prep Basic list — the everyday academic words the SAT assumes you already have. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.
de(under)+cay(fall)