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
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
Domestically, Putin’s operatives appear more concerned with silencing political dissent and opposition to the president than rooting out terrorist plots, according to analysts and observers of Russian politics.
—Shane Harris, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
Its trust and safety team, which TikTok has said is made up of more than 40,000 people, participated in an enrichment program from Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, to deepen its understanding of the Holocaust and better root out antisemitism on the app.
—Sapna Maheshwari, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Israel also will need more resources to root out Hamas and free hostages that the terrorist organization has captured.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Feb. 2024
Yes, rooting out Hamas would be brutal—the group welcomes civilian collateral damage and has entrenched itself in hundreds of miles of tunnels honeycombed through civilian infrastructure.
—Phil Klay, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
The Palestinian Authority is too weak to govern Gaza; revitalizing it would require not only deposing Mahmoud Abbas, its octogenarian president, but also rooting out its systemic corruption, a goal that has eluded every past effort at reform.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2024
His government has made a series of high-profile moves to root out corruption and assure Western allies that Ukraine is a reliable ally committed to the rule of law.
—Daria Mitiuk, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024
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
Domestically, Putin’s operatives appear more concerned with silencing political dissent and opposition to the president than rooting out terrorist plots, according to analysts and observers of Russian politics.
—Shane Harris, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
Its trust and safety team, which TikTok has said is made up of more than 40,000 people, participated in an enrichment program from Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, to deepen its understanding of the Holocaust and better root out antisemitism on the app.
—Sapna Maheshwari, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Israel also will need more resources to root out Hamas and free hostages that the terrorist organization has captured.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Feb. 2024
Yes, rooting out Hamas would be brutal—the group welcomes civilian collateral damage and has entrenched itself in hundreds of miles of tunnels honeycombed through civilian infrastructure.
—Phil Klay, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
The Palestinian Authority is too weak to govern Gaza; revitalizing it would require not only deposing Mahmoud Abbas, its octogenarian president, but also rooting out its systemic corruption, a goal that has eluded every past effort at reform.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2024
His government has made a series of high-profile moves to root out corruption and assure Western allies that Ukraine is a reliable ally committed to the rule of law.
—Daria Mitiuk, New York Times, 28 Feb. 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.
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Cite this Entry
“Root out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/root%20out. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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