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Glite Dictionary
to put down roots

to put down roots

8 4.2
To start living in one place for a long time and make it your home
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : echar raíces
  • After years of living in different cities, they finally decided to put down roots in a small town they loved.
  • put down roots here
  • want to put down roots
  • chance to put down roots

But there's one more place where she put down roots of a sort.

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Examples

  • They came to the United States at the invitation of the federal government and put down roots in Minnesota.

    Academic text (2017)

  • I'm so glad you have been able to put down roots where you are.

    Blog text (3)

  • I see people putting down roots in places they are proud to call home.

  • We just, we wanted to put down roots and buy the house that we're going to have all of our kids in.

  • A place we can finally put down roots.

    Rio 2 (2014)

  • His family knows what it means to put down roots.

    Wyatt Earp (1994)

  • Later that day, I decided to stay and put down roots.

    Blog text (17)

  • I want to put down roots and raise my family in the city of my ancestors.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Companies that put down roots in the settlements receive direct government subsidies and tax breaks.

    Blog text (3)

  • As in Gainesville, these newcomers have put down roots, built stable communities, and helped to revive dying and abandoned business sections of Dalton and other rural towns.

    Academic text (2003)

Synonyms

to settle
vsto put down roots
463 2.5

To live in a place, often for a long time

is about long lasting settlement and making a place a permanent home
to settle down
vsto put down roots
173 3.0

To start living a quiet, steady life by having a regular job or a family

focuses more on long permanent residence and homemaking rather than lifestyle change
to settle in
vsto put down roots
132 3.3

To start to feel comfortable and at home in a new place or job

refers to making a long term home rather than just initial adjustment
to settle into
vsto put down roots
41 3.3

Become comfortable in a new place, job, or routine

emphasizes permanent settlement and homemaking rather than gradual adaptation
to take root
vsto put down roots
6 4.0

To settle in one place and start living there

is more about creating a lasting home rather than mere establishment
to hang up one's hat
vsto put down roots
  • Informal
1 7.7

To live in a place and make it your home

stresses long term living and making that place a permanent home
to hang one's hat
vsto put down roots
7.0

Make a home and live in a place

leans more to long term residence and permanent homemaking than mere comfort

Antonyms

to leave
∞ 1.0

To go away from a place, person, or group

How Permanent

to settle
463 2.5
to put down roots
  • Informal
8 4.2
to stay
∞ 1.0
to move in
415 1.8

Surface Forms

put down roots infinitive
putting down roots present participle
puts down roots third person singular
put downed roots past
put downed roots past participle

Morphology

put + down + roots

The phrase relies on a plant metaphor: 'put down' (place/establish) combined with 'roots' (origins/background) gives a plausible sense of settling or establishing oneself, and many languages have equivalent expressions which aids inferability. However the figurative mapping from literal planting to permanent residence is not purely compositional and may require prior exposure for full confidence at B1 level.

Etymology

Put down roots comes from the image of a plant that puts down its roots into the ground to stay and grow. So when people put down roots, they make a home in one place and stay there, which is why it means 'to settle for a long time'.