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
But to help root out the fraud, many community colleges have turned to a growing marketplace of identity verification software vendors.
—
ABC News, 28 Jan. 2026
The prominent mention of Frank, who died of disease in a Nazi concentration camp after her family’s hiding place was betrayed, adds to a growing discourse about whether ICE’s operations targeting immigrants in Minnesota can be compared to the Nazis’ tactics in rooting out Jews during the Holocaust.
—Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the move as part of the administration’s effort to root out waste, fraud, and abuse and to restore public trust in government, saying Booz Allen failed to implement adequate safeguards for confidential taxpayer data accessed through IRS work.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
The play will tell a story inspired by the program’s format, in which a group of faithfuls try to root out the traitors, and will be staged at an unnamed London venue.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for root out
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ABC News, 28 Jan. 2026
The prominent mention of Frank, who died of disease in a Nazi concentration camp after her family’s hiding place was betrayed, adds to a growing discourse about whether ICE’s operations targeting immigrants in Minnesota can be compared to the Nazis’ tactics in rooting out Jews during the Holocaust.
—Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the move as part of the administration’s effort to root out waste, fraud, and abuse and to restore public trust in government, saying Booz Allen failed to implement adequate safeguards for confidential taxpayer data accessed through IRS work.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
The play will tell a story inspired by the program’s format, in which a group of faithfuls try to root out the traitors, and will be staged at an unnamed London venue.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 26 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 29 Jan. 2026.
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