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
Minnesota has been embroiled in protests for weeks after more than 3,000 federal agents were deployed to the city — against the wishes of local leaders — in what the White House has said is an operation to root out local corruption and enforce immigration law.
—
Courtney Kube, NBC news, 19 Jan. 2026
As a design hub with deep avant-garde roots out of which bubbled the still influential Bauhaus movement, Germany is no stranger to contemporary design or mixing historic architecture with modern updates.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 16 Jan. 2026
Immigration authorities say the controversial crackdown is needed to root out fraud in social welfare programs officials say is linked to Somali immigrants.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 15 Jan. 2026
And still others poked fun at how ineffective internal investigations can be at rooting out problem officers and pervasive police shootings.
—Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for root out
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Courtney Kube, NBC news, 19 Jan. 2026
As a design hub with deep avant-garde roots out of which bubbled the still influential Bauhaus movement, Germany is no stranger to contemporary design or mixing historic architecture with modern updates.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 16 Jan. 2026
Immigration authorities say the controversial crackdown is needed to root out fraud in social welfare programs officials say is linked to Somali immigrants.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 15 Jan. 2026
And still others poked fun at how ineffective internal investigations can be at rooting out problem officers and pervasive police shootings.
—Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
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 27 Jan. 2026.
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