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
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
According to the filing, after Eddings became a superintendent, he was charged with rooting out overtime and detail fraud.
—Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 13 Jan. 2026
Maduro was aided substantially by Cuban intelligence officers, who helped root out threats to his rule.
—Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
Israel responded by launching a campaign to root out Tehran’s proxies from the region, and both Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities last year.
—Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for root out
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Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
According to the filing, after Eddings became a superintendent, he was charged with rooting out overtime and detail fraud.
—Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 13 Jan. 2026
Maduro was aided substantially by Cuban intelligence officers, who helped root out threats to his rule.
—Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
Israel responded by launching a campaign to root out Tehran’s proxies from the region, and both Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities last year.
—Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 12 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 19 Jan. 2026.
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