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
In September, Tron, Tether and TRM Labs announced a partnership to root out illicit activity on Tron, called the T3 Financial Crime Unit.
—
Nina Bambysheva, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
The unofficial government entity known as DOGE has been tasked by the White House to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, including at the Social Security Administration, which provides benefit payments to millions of Americans each month.
—Lorie Konish, CNBC, 25 Mar. 2025
In its aggressive push to root out government waste, DOGE has broadened its scope well beyond traditional anti-fraud efforts.
—Sam Sabin, Axios, 25 Mar. 2025
Musk has been tasked by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to root out waste, fraud and corruption within the federal government.
—Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for root out
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.
Nina Bambysheva, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
The unofficial government entity known as DOGE has been tasked by the White House to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, including at the Social Security Administration, which provides benefit payments to millions of Americans each month.
—Lorie Konish, CNBC, 25 Mar. 2025
In its aggressive push to root out government waste, DOGE has broadened its scope well beyond traditional anti-fraud efforts.
—Sam Sabin, Axios, 25 Mar. 2025
Musk has been tasked by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to root out waste, fraud and corruption within the federal government.
—Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 15 Mar. 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 2 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share