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 follow a review into AI foundation models — AI systems that can be adapted to a range of tasks — to root out any potential competition issues in the fast-growing market. Tiffany Tsoi, Fortune Europe, 12 Apr. 2024 The Israeli military describes the raids as part of its counterterrorism effort against Hamas and other armed factions to root out weapons and militants. Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024 If Israel presses ahead with its apparent determination to launch a ground offensive to root out Hamas in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, the humanitarian catastrophe could escalate. Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2024 As Israel’s chief patron and ally, the United States has staunchly backed Israel in its determination to root out Hamas in Gaza. Joost Hiltermann, Foreign Affairs, 28 Mar. 2024 The report highlighted perennial efforts to root out nepotism, bribery and other corruption, noting there were 25 cases last year involving senior-level officials. Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2024 One such item — a life-size wooden figure trapped in a frozen scream — becomes crucial to Darcy’s quest to root out the truth about the murder. Selome Hailu, Variety, 7 Mar. 2024 Jordan’s government has been one of the most vocal opponents of Israel’s war to root out Hamas terrorists from Gaza after the jihadi movement slaughtered 1,200 people on Oct. 7, including many Americans. Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 4 Apr. 2024 Since Israel began its military campaign to root out Hamas from Gaza on Oct. 7, at least 203 aid workers have been killed, according to the Aid Worker Security Database, which tracks attacks on humanitarian relief workers worldwide. Yasmeen Serhan, TIME, 3 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'root out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near root out

Cite this Entry

“Root out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/root%20out. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

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