rooting (out)

verb

present participle of root (out)
1
as in eradicating
to destroy all traces of a concerted effort to root out prejudice of any kind in the armed services

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pulling
to draw out by force or with effort a dog rooting out a buried toy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in finding
to come upon after searching, study, or effort a journalist seeking to root out and expose corruption in the gaming industry

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rooting (out)
  1. eradicating
  2. pulling
  3. finding
  4. erasing
  5. prying
  6. learning
  7. abolishing
  8. extracting
Verb
  • Burnham has also made pledges about reducing, and even eradicating, homelessness, improving care for the elderly and meeting NATO targets on defense spending.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Canney says eradicating this invasive species usually requires a combination of mechanical and chemical methods, applied carefully and consistently.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of eradicating
Verb
  • The first daily chart, going back to July, shows PJP rallying through the summer, topping in late August, and pulling back into October before advancing again.
    — Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2026
  • With a tighter opening, the octopus added a step, pulling the remaining arms through before squeezing its head and mantle through separately.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of pulling
Verb
  • Drone technology and artificial intelligence are rapidly reshaping modern warfare, but the world's biggest defense contractors are finding that demand for tanks, fighter jets and other traditional military equipment remains strong.
    — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2026
  • How Image Processing Reveals the Solar Corona Capturing the corona’s delicate structures means finding a way to show its brightest and faintest features in the same image.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of finding
Verb
  • But, yes, quality wins also would go a long way toward further erasing doubts.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Naturally, the Cubs couldn’t leave well enough alone and sent out workers to powerwash The Wall a few days later, erasing all the thoughtful messages.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of erasing
Verb
  • At first there was just some casual small talk between them, then walks with their dogs, followed by dinners at pubs away from prying eyes and, finally, evenings spent cooking together.
    — Stefania Conrieri, Vanity Fair, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Or prying mussels off rocks along South Africa’s Cape Peninsula.
    — Rachel Levin, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of prying
Verb
  • Regardless, there’s a fascinating swing from FOMO (fear of missing out) to JOMO (joy of missing out), and today’s women are learning that alone time is important for personal growth.
    — Cheryl Fenton, Flow Space, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Reflecting on the workshop’s impact, one participant said the SkyWater tour was excellent, the instructors were great, and the teachers enjoyed learning from like-minded educators.
    — Debra Gulick, IEEE Spectrum, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of learning
Verb
  • Her other policy goals include ending military aid to Israel, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and laying the groundwork for Medicare for All, universal childcare and eldercare.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Cracking down on undocumented immigration and abolishing Indiana’s property taxes are his top issues.
    — Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of abolishing
Verb
  • Potential applications include recharging visiting rovers, transmitting scientific data to Earth and powering equipment used for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), which involves extracting and processing local lunar materials.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Others are capable of evaluating trigonometric functions, extracting roots and calculating logarithms.
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of extracting
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

rooting (for)
rooting (out)
root (out)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rooting (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rooting%20%28out%29. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of defer

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All