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
When not rooting out people identified by U.S. intelligence as terrorists, American troops in the country are tasked with helping the SDF protect oil fields in the northeast, a mission first given to the troops by President Donald Trump in 2019.
—
Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Dec. 2024
Its undoing is now a dreary conclusion to an investigation that had once been viewed as a sea change in Latin America, promising to root out systemic corruption that had rotted the underpinnings of governments.
—Jack Nicas, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024
The net impact of these prosecutions, combined with a Democratic presidency that promised to root out far-right extremism, led to the splintering of once-popular groups like the Proud Boys.
—Will Carless, USA TODAY, 13 Nov. 2024
According to Trump, rooting out inefficiencies in federal spending could save taxpayers trillions of dollars.
—Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 6 Nov. 2024
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Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Dec. 2024
Its undoing is now a dreary conclusion to an investigation that had once been viewed as a sea change in Latin America, promising to root out systemic corruption that had rotted the underpinnings of governments.
—Jack Nicas, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024
The net impact of these prosecutions, combined with a Democratic presidency that promised to root out far-right extremism, led to the splintering of once-popular groups like the Proud Boys.
—Will Carless, USA TODAY, 13 Nov. 2024
According to Trump, rooting out inefficiencies in federal spending could save taxpayers trillions of dollars.
—Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 6 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for root out
Dictionary Entries Near root out
Cite this Entry
“Root out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/root%20out. Accessed 27 Dec. 2024.
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