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
By rooting out fraud and abuse, the Department of Labor and our federal partners will ensure that highly skilled jobs go to Americans first.
—
Sam Stevenson, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025
In 1996, Rwanda’s new government sent troops into the camps to root out the génocidaires.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
This provides plenty of space to spread the roots out laterally.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 6 Nov. 2025
This has become the central theme of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City—probably the most chaotic show in its franchise—whose characters are always trying to root out which of their frenemies is furtively digging up dirt and spreading rumors about their legal or financial woes.
—Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for root out
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Sam Stevenson, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025
In 1996, Rwanda’s new government sent troops into the camps to root out the génocidaires.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
This provides plenty of space to spread the roots out laterally.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 6 Nov. 2025
This has become the central theme of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City—probably the most chaotic show in its franchise—whose characters are always trying to root out which of their frenemies is furtively digging up dirt and spreading rumors about their legal or financial woes.
—Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 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 29 Nov. 2025.
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