uproot

verb

up·​root (ˌ)əp-ˈrüt  -ˈru̇t 

uprooted; uprooting; uproots

transitive verb

1

: to remove as if by pulling up

striving to uproot poverty

2

: to pull up by the roots

Many trees were uprooted by the storm.

3

: to displace from a country or traditional habitat

Taking the job would mean uprooting my family.

uprootedness noun

uprooter noun

Synonyms of uproot

• pry
• pull
• yank
• extract
• pluck

Choose the Right Synonym for uproot

exterminate, extirpate, eradicate, uproot mean to effect the destruction or abolition of something.

exterminate implies complete and immediate extinction by killing off all individuals.

exterminate cockroaches

extirpate implies extinction of a race, family, species, or sometimes an idea or doctrine by destruction or removal of its means of propagation.

many species have been extirpated from the area

eradicate implies the driving out or elimination of something that has established itself.

a campaign to eradicate illiteracy

uproot implies a forcible or violent removal and stresses displacement or dislodgment rather than immediate destruction.

the war uprooted thousands

Examples of uproot in a Sentence

Many trees were uprooted by the storm.

Will we ever be able to uproot racial prejudice?

Taking the job would mean uprooting my family.

Recent Examples on the Web

Tasks include trailblazing and uprooting invasive weeds at the adjacent Richardson Grove State Park; river beach cleanups; painting barns, auditoriums, cabins and kitchen walls; building benches and greenhouses; and planting fruit trees. — Savita Patel, Mercury News, 26 July 2026

Every Jay, even those not fearing their lives might soon be uprooted, must play with that concept hanging over the clubhouse. — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 25 July 2026

And having to uproot your life is a little bit of a shock to the system. — Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 23 July 2026

Larry Page, worth $297 billion, and Sergey Brin, with $276 billion to his name, have both uprooted to Florida as their previous home state, California, gears up for a ballot referendum on taxing the assets of the wealthy. — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 22 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1620, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for uproot

• acute
• aleut
• astute
• beetroot
• breadfruit
• cheroot
• commute
• compute
• confute
• dilute
• dispute
• elute

Kids Definition

uproot

verb

up·​root (ˌ)ə-ˈprüt  -ˈpru̇t 

: to remove by or as if by pulling up by the roots

uproot a vine

families uprooted by war