root out
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 White House last month announced that Vice President JD Vance will spearhead an effort to root out Medicaid fraud.
—
Editorial, Boston Herald, 30 Apr. 2026
No one’s yet discovered how to root out the source of subtle cyberattacks, like in the latter example, with 100 percent accuracy.
—Evan Johnson, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026
At a Senate confirmation hearing for his new post, senators also questioned him about a role supervising the Weaponization Working Group, a task force established by former Attorney General Pam Bondi to root out alleged instances of political bias in the department under President Joe Biden.
—Andrew Graham
april 30, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Critics have blamed both Sheinbaum and López Obrador for carrying out few high-level prosecutions for graft and for weakening watchdog institutions charged with rooting out corruption.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for root out
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Editorial, Boston Herald, 30 Apr. 2026
No one’s yet discovered how to root out the source of subtle cyberattacks, like in the latter example, with 100 percent accuracy.
—Evan Johnson, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026
At a Senate confirmation hearing for his new post, senators also questioned him about a role supervising the Weaponization Working Group, a task force established by former Attorney General Pam Bondi to root out alleged instances of political bias in the department under President Joe Biden.
—Andrew Graham
april 30, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Critics have blamed both Sheinbaum and López Obrador for carrying out few high-level prosecutions for graft and for weakening watchdog institutions charged with rooting out corruption.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
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 May. 2026.
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