rotting
adj.adj. becoming soft, smelly, and bad because it is old or dead. You use this to describe food or wood that is breaking down naturally.
adj. undergoing natural decomposition through the action of bacteria or fungi. Often used as a participial adjective to describe organic matter in a state of decay.
The smell of rotting fruit filled the kitchen.
The old wooden fence was rotting at the base because of the damp soil.
The forest floor was thick with rotting leaves, which slowly returned vital nutrients to the earth to support the growth of new saplings.
From Middle English rotynge (“rotting”), from Old English rotung; equivalent to rot + -ing. Conflated with Middle English rotende, present participle of roten (“to rot”), from Old English rotiende, present participle of rotian (“to rot”).
Often used as a participial adjective before a noun; can also follow a linking verb like 'smell' or 'look'.