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to root

to root

161 2.9
To cheer for someone or a team because you want them to win
  • verb
  • /ruːt/
  • US
: animar a
  • I'll be rooting for you.

Senator, Dinosaurs are somewhere rooting for us.

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Examples

Synonyms

to cheer
vsto root
317 1.0

To shout to show support for someone or something

means general support or backing rather than only the shout
to root for
vsto root
  • Informal
139 3.0

To cheer for a person or team so they do well

is the same support action but used without a following preposition
to pull for
vsto root
  • Informal
24 4.2

Support someone in a competition or hard situation

expresses the same backing but is more general in tone
to root on
vsto root
  • UK
3 6.5

To cheer for someone loudly to show support

covers general support not limited to vocal encouragement

Antonyms

610 2.9

To be against something and try to stop it

jeer
  • Offensive
7 7.5

A rude shout or remark that shows you do not respect someone

Phrasal Verbs

to root for
  • Informal
139 3.0

To cheer for a person or team so they do well

37 3.9

Find and completely remove something harmful or hidden

28 3.6

To begin to exist and become accepted by people

3 6.5

To cheer for someone loudly to show support

1 4.0

Pull a plant up from the ground so it cannot grow back

1 7.0

To search through a place or container in a messy way

1 4.0

To settle in one place and start living there

Compounds

50 2.3

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

root cause
  • Specialized
41 3.6

The main reason why a problem happens

root canal
  • Specialized
23 3.5

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

square root
  • Specialized
15 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

6 2.9

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

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

root system
  • Specialized
5 3.4

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

root word
  • Specialized
4 4.2

The basic form of a word after removing beginnings and endings

4 3.2

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

2 9.9

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

cube root
  • Specialized
1 3.9

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

root rot
  • Specialized
1 5.0

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

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 3.9

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

root crop
  • Specialized
1 3.4

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

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

posterior root
  • Specialized
1 9.5

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

1 5.3

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

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

root hair
  • Specialized
1 4.1

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

hairy root
  • Specialized
1 8.9

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

1 9.9

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

adventitious root
  • Specialized
1 8.2

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

1 4.4

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

spinal nerve root
  • Specialized
1 4.6

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

prop root
  • Specialized
1 7.5

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

1 5.1

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

1 9.9

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

1 6.0

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

ventral root
  • Specialized
1 7.4

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

1 9.9

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

colic root
  • Archaic
1 9.9

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A family background from a culture that is not White Protestant

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

root climber
  • Specialized
6.1

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

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

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

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

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

unicorn root
  • Archaic
9.9

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

How Supportive

to champion
67 4.2
to back
848 1.0
to root
  • US
161 2.9
to support
∞ 1.0
to like
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

root infinitive
rooted past
rooted past participle
rooting present participle
roots third person singular

Etymology

To root for someone meaning 'to cheer' likely began as informal talk for loud support, and a helpful way to remember it is to think of 'rooting' as giving strong 'support' to a person or team.