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
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.
While not the first acts of military extremism, the two deadly attacks amplify questions about the extent of radical and unstable veterans and active-duty troops and whether the Pentagon’s efforts to identify and root out extremist beliefs are working. Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 3 Jan. 2025 Indeed, the Pentagon has been winding down a post-Jan. 6 effort to root out extremists in the military, given the many gray areas such an effort revealed. Henry Gass, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Jan. 2025 There, artificial intelligence has been suggesting targets in Israel’s retaliatory campaign to root out Hamas following the group’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack. Yasmeen Serhan, TIME, 18 Dec. 2024 In the sixth episode of Silo Season 2, dropping this Friday, Bernard enacts a plan to root out Knox, Shirley, and Walker; Billings takes a stand; and Solo saves Juliette’s life (but wants something in return). Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 16 Dec. 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 17 Jan. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on root out

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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