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
The findings raise questions about how effective the state is at rooting out cops who have violated their duties.
—
Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2025
More recently, from her post in the White House, Halligan was tasked by Trump with an effort to root out what the administration calls radical ideology at the Smithsonian Institution museums.
—Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2025
Similar requests for voter registration have been made to election officials in more than 25 states in the name of rooting out voters who are not authorized to live in the United States.
—Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Prison leaders pledged in August to root out the individual — or individuals — responsible through an investigation of its corrections staff at Idaho’s maximum security prison known as IMSI.
—Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for root out
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2025
More recently, from her post in the White House, Halligan was tasked by Trump with an effort to root out what the administration calls radical ideology at the Smithsonian Institution museums.
—Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2025
Similar requests for voter registration have been made to election officials in more than 25 states in the name of rooting out voters who are not authorized to live in the United States.
—Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Prison leaders pledged in August to root out the individual — or individuals — responsible through an investigation of its corrections staff at Idaho’s maximum security prison known as IMSI.
—Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 17 Sep. 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 25 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share