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root

root

69 4.6
The part of a tooth, nail, or hair that sits under the skin
  • noun
  • /ruːt/
translation icon : raíz
  • For example, the amount of DNA found at the root of one hair is usually sufficient.
  • posterior root
  • sensory root
  • trigeminal root

Also, I just dyed my hair last night, the roots and I feel like a brand new woman.

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Examples

  • Then I take my styler and run it from root to tip quite slowly so the hair gets nice and hot.

  • Exerting any pressure on the root of the follicle was carefully avoided during transplantation.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The hair will then fall out, but the root will then grow a new hair.

  • Not only does it clean and condition the hair, it sets the hair as well by getting deep down into the root system.

  • I say this all the time, but always brush your hair from the ends to the root, not the other way around.

  • Just put the comb in once, push it up, re grip the hair, take that same piece and just kind of slowly push it up to the root and you'll get a nice little tease.

  • On the bottom, there were green runners and half-rotten roots, thickly intertwined in a dark green muck.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The dentist showed me the root of the tooth that was causing my pain.

  • During the surgery, the doctor examined the root of the hair follicle to ensure it was healthy.

  • To maintain healthy hair, it is essential to nourish the root properly.

Compounds

54 2.3

A sweet fizzy drink without alcohol flavored with root and herb extracts

root cause
  • Specialized
35 3.6

The main reason why a problem happens

root canal
  • Specialized
17 3.5

A channel inside a tooth root that has nerves and blood vessels

square root
  • Specialized
11 3.4

A number that when multiplied by itself gives a given number

8 4.3

A cool underground room that keeps vegetables like potatoes and carrots fresh

A vegetable that grows under the ground like a carrot or potato

root system
  • Specialized
4 3.4

All the parts under the ground of a plant that hold it in soil and take water

4 2.9

A cold drink of root beer with a scoop of ice cream

3 3.2

A large bumpy root vegetable with a mild celery taste used in cooking

cube root
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A number that when multiplied by itself twice gives a given number

1 9.9

A plant root people believe has magical or healing powers that people sometimes use as a drug

root rot
  • Specialized
1 5.0

A disease that makes plant roots soft and brown after too much water

1 3.9

A plant root used to add a sweet, slightly bitter flavor to candies, drinks, and medicine

The origin in the past from which something developed

1 4.0

A starchy root vegetable eaten as a main food in tropical regions

1 5.3

People use a dried, roasted root instead of coffee to add flavor

dorsal root
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A group of nerve fibers at the back of the spinal cord that carry messages about feeling into it

root crop
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A plant with a large part under the ground that people eat, like a potato or carrot

root word
  • Specialized
1 4.2

The basic form of a word after removing beginnings and endings

A thick root from the blueberry plant once used in traditional medicine

black root rot fungus
  • Specialized
8.5

A fungus that attacks the roots of apple trees and makes them rot

Hard wood from a shrub that people use to make tobacco pipes

brown root rot fungus
  • Specialized
7.4

A fungus that infects plant roots and causes brown rot in crops like peas or potatoes

7.4

Pain, weakness, and numbness in the neck and arm from a pinched nerve

characteristic root
  • Specialized
9.9

A number that makes a square matrix have determinant zero when subtracted from its diagonal entries

A plant that lives for several years with divided leaves and hanging brown-purple and orange-pink flowers

colic root
  • Archaic
9.9

A small plant with grasslike leaves whose bitter root was used to treat stomach pain

clover-root
  • Literature
9.9

A hairy plant from Europe and Asia with small yellow flowers and a root used in old medicines

coral root
  • Specialized
9.9

A wildflower without leaves that gets food from fungi and grows from a hard mass of roots underground

A small European plant like cress with knotted white roots that grows in damp places

crinkle-root
  • Specialized
9.9

A North American wild plant with toothed leaves and strong smelling roots used to add taste or to treat illness

9.9

A North American plant with strong tasting roots used to flavor food or as medicine

crested coral root
  • Specialized
9.9

A small North American orchid with yellowish-brown flowers marked by dark veins, found from Arizona to the eastern United States

9.9

A tall plant with spikes of small white or purple flowers that lives for many years

derris root
  • Specialized
9.9

The root of a climbing plant used to make a natural insect poison

early coral root
  • Specialized
9.9

A North American orchid with pale yellow or green stems and almost no leaves

adventitious root
  • Specialized
8.2

A part of a plant that grows from a stem or leaf instead of the main root

ague root
  • Archaic
9.9

A North American plant with small white flowers sometimes used in herbal medicine

anterior root
  • Specialized
9.3

A nerve branch at the front of the spinal cord that carries signals to muscles

hairy root
  • Specialized
8.9

Many thin roots growing abnormally near a plant's base, often caused by a disease called crown gall

A white root grated to give sauces or meat a strong hot taste

A family background from a culture that is not White Protestant

prop root
  • Specialized
7.5

A part of a plant that grows from the stem above ground and holds the plant in place

A small wild plant with purple flowers that grows in European meadows

A North American wild plant with long clusters of small flowers once used as medicine

root cap
  • Specialized
6.8

A small group of cells at the tip of a plant root that protects it as it grows through soil

A vegetable with a large, round root that people eat instead of potatoes

root climber
  • Specialized
6.1

A plant that grows up walls using small roots that stick to surfaces

root hair
  • Specialized
4.1

A thin thread on a plant root that takes in water and nutrients from the soil

rose-root
  • Specialized
9.9

A mountain plant with thick pink-tipped leaves and yellow flowers used in herbal medicine

pale coral root
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant with almost no leaves and pale yellow-green stems and flowers

9.9

A tall plant with blue berries and a thick root used as medicine

A white root vegetable like a carrot that you eat raw or cooked

pepper root
  • Specialized
9.6

A North American plant with strong spicy roots used for food and medicine

9.9

A North American plant with bright orange flowers used as a medicine

posterior root
  • Specialized
9.5

A group of nerves at the back of the spine that carries feeling from the body to the spinal cord

The dried part of a plant used to flavor drinks and herbal medicines

senega root
  • Specialized
9.9

A North American plant with small white flowers whose roots people use in cough medicines

9.9

A plant from eastern North America with small white flowers and roots used in medicine

9.9

A rough wild plant from eastern North America with large leaves and purple or dull red flowers

tuba root
  • Philippine
9.9

A climbing plant whose root has a poison used to stun fish and kill insects

spinal nerve root
  • Specialized
4.6

A nerve that comes out of the spinal cord, joins another nerve, and carries messages to and from the body

A small plant with leafless stems that grows in North American forests and has white flowers with purple spots

squaw root
  • NSFW
9.9

A tall herb with blue berries and a thick knotty root once used as medicine

9.9

A strong-smelling upright plant with toothed leaves and yellow flowers

stone-root
  • Specialized
9.9

A forest plant with strong-smelling leaves and yellow flowers

A wildflower with almost no leaves, red stems, and pale pink flowers with brown stripes

6.0

A thick bright yellow root used as a spice and traditional medicine

unicorn root
  • Archaic
9.9

A plant with long thin leaves and a bitter root used to treat stomach pain

ventral root
  • Specialized
7.4

The front branch of a spinal nerve that sends movement signals to muscles

9.9

A plant that lives many years with a thick knotted yellow underground stem and large rounded leaves

Surface Forms

root singular
roots plural

Etymology

The word root is used for the hidden base of a tooth, nail, or hair by comparing it to a plant root, the part under the ground that holds and feeds the plant, so the 'base' idea links the two meanings.