root out

verb

rooted out; rooting out; roots out
Synonyms of root outnext
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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City leaders reacted immediately, saying the revelations about the department’s culture were unacceptable and pledging to swiftly investigate and root out the systemic racism. — Kansas City Star, 9 Oct. 2026 The department’s defenders maintain that progress has been made toward rooting out bigotry. — Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026 But in stark contrast to Orban, Magyar wants to root out the corruption in Budapest and pledged to rebuild institutions Orban weakened. — Ian Bremmer, Time, 30 Sep. 2026 Plaintiffs' critical role to root out governmental fraud, finance waste, and abuse is obstructed by Defendant's interference with OIG's investigatory performance. — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 24 Sep. 2026 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 14 Oct. 2026.

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