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
Investments made today in rooting out bad actors and questionable business practices will always pay dividends for big companies – regardless of the status of any single regulatory proposal.
—
Mary Foley, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Despite all the indignities to which it’s been subjected, the show closes with its most unsparing season yet, an indictment of societies where money trumps humanity that roots out all forms of complicity—especially our own.
—Judy Berman, Time, 27 June 2025
The plan allegedly aims to expand the university’s tenure-track faculty rapidly while prioritizing demographic diversity, a hallmark feature of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, which the Trump administration is attempting to root out of institutions nationally.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 26 June 2025
The Trump administration is shattering norms around the handling of Americans’ personal — and sometimes private — information, dismantling barriers concerning data in the name of government efficiency and rooting out fraud.
—Julia Shapero, The Hill, 25 June 2025
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Mary Foley, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Despite all the indignities to which it’s been subjected, the show closes with its most unsparing season yet, an indictment of societies where money trumps humanity that roots out all forms of complicity—especially our own.
—Judy Berman, Time, 27 June 2025
The plan allegedly aims to expand the university’s tenure-track faculty rapidly while prioritizing demographic diversity, a hallmark feature of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, which the Trump administration is attempting to root out of institutions nationally.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 26 June 2025
The Trump administration is shattering norms around the handling of Americans’ personal — and sometimes private — information, dismantling barriers concerning data in the name of government efficiency and rooting out fraud.
—Julia Shapero, The Hill, 25 June 2025
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 4 Jul. 2025.
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