decay
     n 1: the process of gradually becoming inferior
     2: a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current [syn: {decline}]
     3: the organic phenomenon of rotting [syn: {decomposition}]
     4: an inferior state resulting from the process of decaying;
        "the corpse was in an advanced state of decay"; "the house
        had fallen into a serious state of decay and disrepair"
     5: the spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance
        along with the emission of ionizing radiation [syn: {radioactive
        decay}, {disintegration}]
     v 1: lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current; "the
          particles disintegrated during the nuclear fission
          process" [syn: {disintegrate}, {decompose}]
     2: fall into decay or ruin; "The unoccupied house started to
        decay" [syn: {crumble}, {delapidate}]
     3: undergo decay or decomposition; "The body started to decay
        and needed to be cremated"
Source: WordNet® 2.0

decay n.,vi [from nuclear physics] An automatic conversion which is
   applied to most array-valued expressions in {C}; they `decay into'
   pointer-valued expressions pointing to the array's first element. This
   term is borderline techspeak, but is not used in the official standard
   for the language.


Source: The Jargon File