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
Israeli airstrikes on Gaza tent camp:more than 40 dead, dozens injured
In the absence of that deal, Israel has pushed on with its military offensive in Gaza aimed at rooting out Hamas and freeing its hostages.
—
Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2024
Within this complex system of shifting allegiances, one highly skilled man can root out the weaknesses and disrupt the food chain.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2024
The law aims to protect Californians from gas price gouging by creating an independent watchdog to root out potential gouging and authorizing regulators to penalize the oil industry for wrongdoings.
—Kristin J. Bender, The Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2024
And while what is happening in Paris is extreme, the core of the controversy—a desire to root out women in sport who do not conform to Western ideals of beauty and femininity—is not new at all.
—Lindsay Gibbs, TIME, 2 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for root out 
Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2024
Within this complex system of shifting allegiances, one highly skilled man can root out the weaknesses and disrupt the food chain.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2024
The law aims to protect Californians from gas price gouging by creating an independent watchdog to root out potential gouging and authorizing regulators to penalize the oil industry for wrongdoings.
—Kristin J. Bender, The Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2024
And while what is happening in Paris is extreme, the core of the controversy—a desire to root out women in sport who do not conform to Western ideals of beauty and femininity—is not new at all.
—Lindsay Gibbs, TIME, 2 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for root out
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'root out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Root out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/root%20out. Accessed 23 Sep. 2024.
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