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
Israel has also begun a ground operation into the territory intent on rooting out the Hamas terrorists once and for all and saving the hostages.
—
Sami Zayara, ABC News, 17 Nov. 2023
Israel’s assault, which officials have said is aimed at rooting out Hamas for good, was a response to the militant group’s surprise raids of nearby Israeli towns on Oct. 7.
—Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2023
Israeli forces are already fighting inside Gaza’s largest city, and the government’s maximalist goal—rooting out Hamas—means there is no apparent strategy for how and when the fighting should end.
—Sarah E. Parkinson, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2023
There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says would be aimed at rooting out Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years.
—TIME, 21 Oct. 2023
At the same time, Israel has waged a parallel campaign in the West Bank aimed at rooting out militants and Hamas sympathizers.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2023
Before those launchers can be rooted out, there is a crucial need for even more granular intelligence to solve a thorny prob- lem.
—Dan Senor, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2023
McEntee, in particular, has prior experience rooting out obstructive staffers—in 2020, he was appointed to sniff out those working against Trump’s agenda, as Trump’s personnel chief.
—Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic, 2 Nov. 2023
The resolution called for an immediate cease-fire that would, according to Israel and military experts, stop Israel’s efforts to root out the Hamas terrorist movement in the Gaza Strip.
—Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 30 Oct. 2023
See More
Sami Zayara, ABC News, 17 Nov. 2023
Israel’s assault, which officials have said is aimed at rooting out Hamas for good, was a response to the militant group’s surprise raids of nearby Israeli towns on Oct. 7.
—Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2023
Israeli forces are already fighting inside Gaza’s largest city, and the government’s maximalist goal—rooting out Hamas—means there is no apparent strategy for how and when the fighting should end.
—Sarah E. Parkinson, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2023
There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says would be aimed at rooting out Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years.
—TIME, 21 Oct. 2023
At the same time, Israel has waged a parallel campaign in the West Bank aimed at rooting out militants and Hamas sympathizers.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2023
Before those launchers can be rooted out, there is a crucial need for even more granular intelligence to solve a thorny prob- lem.
—Dan Senor, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2023
McEntee, in particular, has prior experience rooting out obstructive staffers—in 2020, he was appointed to sniff out those working against Trump’s agenda, as Trump’s personnel chief.
—Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic, 2 Nov. 2023
The resolution called for an immediate cease-fire that would, according to Israel and military experts, stop Israel’s efforts to root out the Hamas terrorist movement in the Gaza Strip.
—Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 30 Oct. 2023
See More
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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“Root out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/root%20out. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.
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