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
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Some Senate Republicans have continued to engage in discussions on an extension of the tax credits with new limits on income and reforms to root out waste, fraud and abuse. Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025 One is rooting out insurance broker fraud. Marc Levy, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2025 Rollins said in November that USDA FNS was working to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, and that a major overhaul of the system may be needed. Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 3 Dec. 2025 By rooting out fraud and abuse, the Department of Labor and our federal partners will ensure that highly skilled jobs go to Americans first. Sam Stevenson, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for root out

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Cite this Entry

“Root out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/root%20out. Accessed 16 Dec. 2025.

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