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
The Trump administration has said aggressive enforcement tactics are necessary to root out criminals in the country.
—
Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 10 July 2025
Supporters have cheered the actions as an overdue way to root out waste.
—Eric D. Lawrence, Freep.com, 3 July 2025
Advocates say such cases are symptoms of a larger agency culture that places inappropriate emphasis on rooting out potential, yet rare, fraud.
—Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 3 July 2025
And as one of the first actions of his second term, Trump fired 17 independent inspectors general responsible for rooting out fraud and waste in government.
—Brett Kelman, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for root out
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Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 10 July 2025
Supporters have cheered the actions as an overdue way to root out waste.
—Eric D. Lawrence, Freep.com, 3 July 2025
Advocates say such cases are symptoms of a larger agency culture that places inappropriate emphasis on rooting out potential, yet rare, fraud.
—Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 3 July 2025
And as one of the first actions of his second term, Trump fired 17 independent inspectors general responsible for rooting out fraud and waste in government.
—Brett Kelman, The Tennessean, 2 July 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 19 Jul. 2025.
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