rooting out - definition of rooting out by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

Root (r

t), Elihu 1845-1937.

American lawyer and public official who served as U.S. secretary of war (1899-1904), secretary of state (1905-1909), and senator from New York (1909-1915). He won the 1912 Nobel Peace Prize.

root¹ (r

t, r

1. The usually underground portion of a plant that lacks buds, leaves, or nodes and serves as support, draws minerals and water from the surrounding soil, and sometimes stores food.

2. Any of various other underground plant parts, especially an underground stem such as a rhizome, corm, or tuber.

a. The embedded part of an organ or structure such as a hair, tooth, or nerve, that serves as a base or support.

b. A base or support: We snipped the wires at the roots.

4. An essential part or element; the basic core: I finally got to the root of the problem.

5. A primary source; an origin. See Synonyms at origin.

6. A progenitor or ancestor from which a person or family is descended.

a. The condition of being settled and of belonging to a particular place or society. Often used in the plural: Our roots in this town go back a long way.

b. roots The state of having or establishing an indigenous relationship with or a personal affinity for a particular culture, society, or environment: music with unmistakable African roots.

8. Linguistics

a. The element that carries the main component of meaning in a word and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or inflectional endings or by phonetic change.

b. Such an element reconstructed for a protolanguage. Also called radical.

9. Mathematics

a. A number that when multiplied by itself an indicated number of times forms a product equal to a specified number. For example, a fourth root of 4 is

2. Also called nth root.

b. A number that reduces a polynomial equation in one variable to an identity when it is substituted for the variable.

c. A number at which a polynomial has the value zero.

10. Music

a. The note from which a chord is built.

b. Such a note occurring as the lowest note of a triad or other chord.

v. root·ed, root·ing, roots

v.intr.

1. To grow roots or a root.

2. To become firmly established, settled, or entrenched.

3. To come into existence; originate.

v.tr.

1. To cause to put out roots and grow.

2. To implant by or as if by the roots.

3. To furnish a primary source or origin to.

4. To remove by or as if by the roots. Often used with up or out: "declared that waste and fraud will be vigorously rooted out of Government" New York Times.

Idiom:

root and branch

Utterly; completely: The organization has been transformed root and branch by its new leaders.

[Middle English rot, from Old English rt, from Old Norse; see wrd- in Indo-European roots.]

rooter n.

root² (r

t, r

v. root·ed, root·ing, roots

v.tr.

To dig with or as if with the snout or nose: Even a blind hog can root up an acorn.

v.intr.

1. To dig in the earth with or as if with the snout or nose.

2. To rummage for something: rooted around for a pencil in his cluttered office.

[Middle English wroten, from Old English wrtan.]

rooter n.

root³ (r

t, r

intr.v. root·ed, root·ing, roots

1. To give audible encouragement or applause to a contestant or team; cheer. See Synonyms at applaud.

2. To lend support to someone or something.

[Possibly alteration of rout³.]

rooter n.

root ¹

Noun

1. the part of a plant that anchors the rest of the plant in the ground and absorbs water and mineral salts from the soil

2. a plant with an edible root, such as a carrot

3. Anat the part of a tooth, hair, or nail that is below the skin

4. roots a person's sense of belonging in a place, esp. the one in which he or she was brought up

5. source or origin

6. the essential part or nature of something: the root of a problem

7. Linguistics the form of a word from which other words and forms are derived

8. Maths a quantity that when multiplied by itself a certain number of times equals a given quantity: what is the cube root of a thousand?

9. Also called: (solution) Maths a number that when substituted for the variable satisfies a given equation

10. Austral & NZ slang sexual intercourse

11. root and branch entirely or utterly Related adjective radical

Verb

1. Also: (take root) to establish a root and begin to grow

2. Also: (take root) to become established or embedded

3. Austral & NZ slang to have sexual intercourse (with)

See also root out, roots [Old English rōt]

root ²

Verb

1. Brit to dig up the earth in search of food, using the snout: dogs were rooting in the rushes for bones

2. Informal to search vigorously but unsystematically: she was rooting around in her large untidy purse [Old English wrōtan]

root (r

t, r

1. A plant part that usually grows underground, secures the plant in place, absorbs minerals and water, and stores food manufactured by leaves and other plant parts. Roots grow in a root system. Eudicots and magnoliids have a central, longer, and larger taproot with many narrower lateral roots branching off, while monocots have a mass of threadlike fibrous roots, which are roughly the same length and remain close to the surface of the soil. In vascular plants, roots usually consist of a central cylinder of vascular tissue, surrounded by the pericycle and endodermis, then a thick layer of cortex, and finally an outer epidermis or (in woody plants) periderm. Only finer roots (known as feeder roots) actively take up water and minerals, generally in the uppermost meter of soil. These roots absorb minerals primarily through small epidermal structures known as root hairs. In certain plants, adventitious roots grow out from the stem above ground as aerial roots or prop roots, bending down into the soil, to facilitate the exchange of gases or increase support. Certain plants (such as the carrot and beet) have fleshy storage roots with abundant parenchyma in their vascular tissues. See also fibrous root taproot

2. Any of various other plant parts that grow underground, especially an underground stem such as a corm, rhizome, or tuber.

3. The part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and not covered by enamel.

4. Mathematics

a. A number that, when multiplied by itself a given number of times, produces a specified number. For example, since 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 16, 2 is a fourth root of 16.

b. A solution to an equation. For example, a root of the equation x² - 4 = 0 is 2, since 2² - 4 = 0.

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	root - (botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground phytology, botany - the branch of biology that studies plants calamus - the aromatic root of the sweet flag used medicinally cocoyam, dasheen, eddo, taro - edible starchy tuberous root of taro plants ginseng - aromatic root of ginseng plants horseradish, horseradish root - the root of the horseradish plant; it is grated or ground and used for seasoning radish - pungent edible root of any of various cultivated radish plants chicory, chicory root - the dried root of the chicory plant: used as a coffee substitute oyster plant, salsify - edible root of the salsify plant Hottentot bread, Hottentot's bread - thick edible rootstock of elephant's-foot briarroot - hard woody root of the briar Erica arborea orrisroot, orris - fragrant rootstock of various irises especially Florentine iris; used in perfumes and medicines sarsaparilla root - dried root of any of various plants of the genus Smilax used as a flavoring agent licorice root - root of licorice used in flavoring e.g. candy and liqueurs and medicines senega - dried root of two plants of the genus Polygala containing an irritating saponin mandrake, mandrake root - the root of the mandrake plant; used medicinally or as a narcotic cassava, manioc - cassava root eaten as a staple food after drying and leaching; source of tapioca carrot - deep orange edible root of the cultivated carrot plant parsnip - the whitish root of cultivated parsnip plant organ - a functional and structural unit of a plant or fungus parenchyma - the primary tissue of higher plants composed of thin-walled cells that remain capable of cell division even when mature; constitutes the greater part of leaves, roots, the pulp of fruits, and the pith of stems root system, rootage - a developed system of roots pneumatophore - an air-filled root (submerged or exposed) that can function as a respiratory organ of a marsh or swamp plant taproot - (botany) main root of a plant growing straight downward from the stem adventitious root - root growing in an unusual location e.g. from a stem root cap - thimble-shaped mass of cells covering and protecting the growing tip of a root rootlet - small root or division of a root root hair - thin hairlike outgrowth of an epidermal cell just behind the tip; absorbs nutrients from the soil prop root - a root that grows from and supports the stem above the ground in plants such as mangroves bark - tough protective covering of the woody stems and roots of trees and other woody plants
	2.	root - the place where something begins, where it springs into being; "the Italian beginning of the Renaissance"; "Jupiter was the origin of the radiation"; "Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River"; "communism's Russian root" origin, source, rootage, beginning derivation - the source or origin from which something derives (i.e. comes or issues); "he prefers shoes of Italian derivation"; "music of Turkish derivation" spring - a point at which water issues forth headspring, fountainhead, head - the source of water from which a stream arises; "they tracked him back toward the head of the stream" headwater - the source of a river; "the headwaters of the Nile" wellhead, wellspring - the source of water for a well jumping-off place, point of departure - a place from which an enterprise or expedition is launched; "one day when I was at a suitable jumping-off place I decided to see if I could find him"; "my point of departure was San Francisco" place of origin, provenance, provenience, birthplace, cradle - where something originated or was nurtured in its early existence; "the birthplace of civilization" home - place where something began and flourished; "the United States is the home of basketball" point source - a concentrated source (especially of radiation or pollution) that is spatially constricted trail head, trailhead - the beginning of a trail point - the precise location of something; a spatially limited location; "she walked to a point where she could survey the whole street"
	3.	root - (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" root word, stem, theme, radical, base linguistics - the scientific study of language descriptor, form, signifier, word form - the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something; "the inflected forms of a word can be represented by a stem and a list of inflections to be attached"
	4.	root - a number that, when multiplied by itself some number of times, equals a given number number - a concept of quantity involving zero and units; "every number has a unique position in the sequence" square root - a number that when multiplied by itself equals a given number cube root - a number that when multiplied three times equals a given number
	5.	root - the set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation solution set - (mathematics) an abstract collection of numbers or symbols; "the set of prime numbers is infinite"
	6.	root - someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent) ancestor, antecedent, ascendant, ascendent ancestress - a woman ancestor forbear, forebear - a person from whom you are descended forefather, sire, father - the founder of a family; "keep the faith of our forefathers" foremother - a woman ancestor primogenitor, progenitor - an ancestor in the direct line relative, relation - a person related by blood or marriage; "police are searching for relatives of the deceased"; "he has distant relations back in New Jersey"
	7.	root - a simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes etymon descriptor, form, signifier, word form - the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something; "the inflected forms of a word can be represented by a stem and a list of inflections to be attached"
	8.	root - the part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves as support tooth root anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, structure - a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing; "he has good bone structure" tooth - hard bonelike structures in the jaws of vertebrates; used for biting and chewing or for attack and defense cementum, cement - a specialized bony substance covering the root of a tooth
Verb	1.	root - take root and begin to grow; "this plant roots quickly" grow - become larger, greater, or bigger; expand or gain; "The problem grew too large for me"; "Her business grew fast" root - cause to take roots
	2.	root - come into existence, originate; "The problem roots in her depression" become - come into existence; "What becomes has duration"
	3.	root - plant by the roots plant, set - put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground; "Let's plant flowers in the garden"
	4.	root - dig with the snout; "the pig was rooting for truffles" rootle, rout cut into, delve, dig, turn over - turn up, loosen, or remove earth; "Dig we must"; "turn over the soil for aeration"
	5.	root - become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style; "He finally settled down" steady down, take root, settle down, settle stabilise, stabilize - become stable or more stable; "The economy stabilized" roost - settle down or stay, as if on a roost
	6.	root - cause to take roots grow - cause to grow or develop; "He grows vegetables in his backyard" root - take root and begin to grow; "this plant roots quickly"