to root out
21
3.9
- phrasal verb
- /ruːt aʊt/
:
erradicar
- Progress must be made to root out inefficiencies and corruption where these exist.
- root out corruption
- root out terrorists
OK, so you've got Andrew Jackson trying to root out the Vipers.
- OK, so you've got Andrew Jackson trying to root out the Vipers.
- Grace instructed his employees to leave no stone unturned in their search to root out inefficiency.
- They should be able to root out malpractice, monitor performance, track and question expenditure.
- Hamas prevents them from leaving areas where the IDF is, is moving forward with military operations to root out terrorists.
- But I feel like, you know, we live in a transparent age and that stuff doesn't fly anymore and things get rooted out with, with, you know, extreme rapidity.
- When wasteful war shall statues overturn, and Royals root out the work of masonry.
Examples
-
The organization aims to root out fraud within its ranks to ensure transparency.
-
Why won't law enforcement do something to root out these criminals once and for all?
Blog text (3) -
We need to keep up the pressure and root out the guilty parties.
Blog text (10) -
I believe we need to root out the corruption and keep the core organization.
Blog text (20) -
I think before we decide, we have to root out some archaic attitudes.
-
Governments also began to hire privateers to root out pirates.
Academic text (2009) -
Grace instructed his employees to leave no stone unturned in their search to root out inefficiency.
-
Jane, I realize this is an unusual request, but if there is something illegal going on in this company, I need to know everything about it, so we can root out any wrongdoers.
-
With the plans outlined tonight, we have a real chance to root out systemic racism that plagues America.
-
In order to improve the community, we must root out corruption from every level of government.
Synonyms
502
3.4
Remove or kill something completely so it is gone
85
6.6
Remove something harmful completely, for example a disease or pest
60
6.9
To destroy something completely, often on purpose
51
4.5
Force unwanted people or things out of a place, often using water
38
4.4
To pull a plant out of the ground or force people to leave home
37
3.8
To remove unwanted people or things from a group
21
3.4
Find and take out something that is hidden or forgotten
10
3.6
Remove people completely from a place or group because they are unwanted
9
4.3
To check and remove people or things that are not wanted
1
9.9
To destroy something completely, including its root
Pull something completely out of the ground by its roots
Antonyms
How Thorough
189
4.2
85
6.6
21
3.9
91
3.1
37
3.8
∞
1.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to find and completely remove' follows directly from combining 'root' (with the physical/metaphorical sense of pulling out by the roots or uprooting) and the particle 'out' (indicating removal). This verb+particle composition and the root-uproot metaphor are cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reasonably infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Root out paints the same picture but for problems: imagine digging up a bad plant by its root until it comes out of the soil. So the phrase is used for 'to find and completely remove something unwanted or hidden'.