Roots I Ruːt Plant Part Deep Extra Examples

• deep spreading roots
• tree roots can cause damage to buildings.
• i pulled the plant up by the roots (= including the roots).
• root vegetables/crops (= plants whose roots you can eat, such as carrots)

root

1. the part of a plant that grows under the ground and takes in water and minerals that it sends to the rest of the plant
• SEE ALSO grassroots
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/grassroots
• deep spreading roots
• Tree roots can cause damage to buildings.
• I pulled the plant up by the roots (= including the roots).
• root vegetables/crops (= plants whose roots you can eat, such as carrots)
• Good soil promotes strong root growth.
• Root tips die quickly when exposed to light and air.
2. the part of a hair, tooth, nail or tongue that attaches it to the rest of the body
• hair that is blonde at the ends and dark at the roots
3. the main cause of something, such as a problem or difficult situation
• Money, or love of money, is said to be the root of all evil.
• We have to get to the root of the problem.
• What lies at the root of his troubles is a sense of insecurity.
• What would you say was the root cause of the problem?

Extra Examples

• His fears of loneliness lay at the very root of his inability to leave.
• I expect money is at the root of the matter.
• I've spent months trying to get to the root of the problem.
• They consider globalization to be the root of all evil.
4. the origin or basis of something
• Flamenco may have its roots in Arabic music.
• The festival has ancient and deep roots in English culture.
• Her last three albums have seen her return to her bluegrass roots
• We wanted to remain true to our creative roots.

Extra Examples

• The two languages share a common root.
• Jazz's roots are firmly planted in African tradition.
• The custom has its roots in Wales.
• This shameful treatment struck at the very roots of their human dignity.
• The unrest has roots in religious differences.
• They can trace their roots back to the 16th century.
5. the feelings or connections that you have with a place because you have lived there or your family came from there
• I'm proud of my Italian roots.
• After 20 years in America, I still feel my roots are in England.
• We have made lifelong friendships and put down roots.

Extra Examples

• My husband wants to go back to his Irish roots.
• severed from our cultural roots by industrialization
6. the part of a word that has the main meaning and that its other forms are based on; a word that other words are formed from
• ‘Comfort’ is the root of ‘comfortable’, ‘comfortably’, ‘discomfort’ and ‘uncomfortable’.
7. a quantity which, when multiplied by itself a particular number of times, produces another quantity
• SEE ALSO cube root
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/cube-root
8. to develop roots
9. to settle and live in one place
• After ten years travelling the world, she felt it was time to put down roots somewhere.
• We haven't been here long enough to put down roots.
10. completely and in a way that affects every part of something
• The government set out to destroy the organization root and branch.
• root-and-branch reforms
11. to develop roots
• I hope those cuttings will take root.
12. to become accepted widely
• Fortunately, militarism failed to take root in Europe as a whole.

Word Origin

• noun late Old English rōt, from Old Norse rót; related to Latin radix.