root out
phrasal verb
rooted out; rooting out; roots out
1
: to find and remove (something or someone)
The mayor was determined to root out corruption in city government.
2
: to find (something or someone) after searching for a long time
He finally rooted out the cause of the problem.
Examples of root out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Zelenskyy and his supporters have defended the measures as necessary to root out Russian influence in NABU and SAPO.
—
David Brennan, ABC News, 24 July 2025
Non-profit groups that organize day laborers and advocate on their behalf, known as worker centers, were formed to root out wage theft and violations among this highly-exploitable workforce.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 18 July 2025
Issuers must publish regular audits and meet registration conditions, aimed at protecting consumers and rooting out illicit activity.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 July 2025
In 2016, the U.S. military initiated a campaign to root out ISIS from Mosul, Iraq, which killed about five thousand militants and twice as many civilians; the fighting ended up razing a city of two million people.
—Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for root out
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David Brennan, ABC News, 24 July 2025
Non-profit groups that organize day laborers and advocate on their behalf, known as worker centers, were formed to root out wage theft and violations among this highly-exploitable workforce.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 18 July 2025
Issuers must publish regular audits and meet registration conditions, aimed at protecting consumers and rooting out illicit activity.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 July 2025
In 2016, the U.S. military initiated a campaign to root out ISIS from Mosul, Iraq, which killed about five thousand militants and twice as many civilians; the fighting ended up razing a city of two million people.
—Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for root out
Cite this Entry
“Root out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/root%20out. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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