uproot

verb up·root \ (ˌ)əp-ˈrüt , -ˈru̇t \

Definition of uproot

transitive verb

1 :to remove as if by pulling up

2 :to pull up by the roots

3 :to displace from a country or traditional habitat

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uprootedness

noun

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uprooter

noun

See uproot defined for English-language learners

See uproot defined for kids

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 of uproot from the Web

And to leave Taiwan, as my parents did and as Wu did as a child to emigrate to Canada, requires uprooting your entire life.

— kathleen hou, The Cut, "This New Perfume Smells Like Warm Silk," 25 Aug. 2017
Rated at EF-0, the lowest level on the tornado intensity scale, the twister uprooted many trees and snapped big branches along a 1.2-mile path that ran just south of John Marshall Highway and also Interstate 66, according to the Weather Service.

— martin weil, Washington Post, "Small tornado grew out of Friday’s storm in Virginia," 12 Aug. 2017
Fifty million children have been uprooted from their homes, 28 million of whom were forced to [flee their countries because of war] (https://www.unicef.org/media/media_92725.html), and 385 million children are living in extreme poverty.

— muzoon almellehan, Teen Vogue, "International Youth Day is a Chance to Push for Children's Education," 12 Aug. 2017
The vote, which concluded shortly before 2 a.m. EDT, was a blistering defeat for President Donald Trump and McConnell, R-Ky., who’ve made uprooting the statute a top priority.

— erica werner, The Seattle Times, "After health bill crashes, McConnell just wants to ‘move on’," 28 July 2017
But the plans immediately went awry in a vast, messy and violent exchange of populations that left at least 1m dead and 15m uprooted from their homes.

— The Economist, "Hissing cousinsWhy India and Pakistan hate each other," 22 July 2017
And there was another logistical hurdle: Most Europeans clubs that go on tour seek to play multiple games in order to justify the travel and uprooting their operations to America.

— patrick brennan, The Courier-Journal, "How FC Cincinnati booked a marquee friendly against Valencia CF," 21 July 2017
The county uprooted any bromeliads on public land, but the battle against private ownership continues.

— devi shastri, jsonline.com, "In Miami, officials prepare for a new mosquito season – and brace for a return of Zika," 13 July 2017
Prior to that, both worked for FICO on software to uproot credit card fraud.

— mike freeman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "2 fraud veterans found start-up to fight auto lending scams," 6 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'uproot.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of uproot

circa 1620

uproot Synonyms

Synonyms

corkscrew, prize, pry, pull, root (out), tear (out), extract, wrest, wring, yank

Related Words

mine, pluck, remove, take (out), withdraw

Near Antonyms

implant, insert, install, instill; cram, jam, ram, stuff, wedge

Synonym Discussion of 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.