netroots

plural noun

net·​roots ˈnet-ˌrüts 

-ˌru̇ts

: the grassroots political activists who communicate via the Internet especially by blogs

Did you know?

In July of 1912 McClure's Magazine reported, "From the Roosevelt standpoint, especially, it was a campaign from the 'grass roots up'. The voter was the thing." A little more than 90 years later, the Internet was the thing and the grassroots voters had gone virtual: "June 23rd is going to be the official launch of Gov. Dean's campaign for President - we want to use this day as a demonstration of the netroots and grassroots across the nation" (The Hotline, June 2003). It was Howard Dean's campaign that tapped into the wellspring of person-to-person electronic communication and brought us "netroots," a word that joins the "net" of "Internet" with the "roots" of "grassroots."

Word History

First Known Use

2003, in the meaning defined above

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