What does "root" mean?
The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
Root
/ɹuːt/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
- Grammar: root is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: base, origin, radical, source.
- Useful contrasts: affix, apices, blades.
- Usage evidence: These words are derived from the same root.
How to use "root"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "root" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "root" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "root" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "root" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "root" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "base" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "root", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction. countable, uncountable
"This tree's roots can go as deep as twenty metres underground."
- 2 An act of rummaging or searching.
"It was always sensible to get off the busy streets if you were going to have a root inside your girlfriend's bra."
- 3 the embedded part of a bodily structure such as a tooth, nail, or hair wordnet
- 4 A root vegetable. countable, uncountable
"[...] two fields which should have been sown with roots in the early summer were not sown because the ploughing had not been completed early enough."
- 5 An act of sexual intercourse. Australia, New-Zealand, slang, vulgar
"Fancy a root?"
Show 25 more definitions
- 6 (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed wordnet
- 7 The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place. countable, uncountable
"Root damage is a common problem of overbrushing."
- 8 A sexual partner. Australia, New-Zealand, slang, vulgar
- 9 a simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes wordnet
- 10 The part of a hair under the skin that holds the hair in place. countable, uncountable
"The root is the only part of the hair that is alive."
- 11 the set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation wordnet
- 12 The part of a hair near the skin that has not been dyed, permed, or otherwise treated. countable, uncountable
"He dyed his hair black last month, so the grey roots can be seen."
- 13 the place where something begins, where it springs into being wordnet
- 14 The primary source; origin. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"The love of money is the root of all evil."
- 15 someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent) wordnet
- 16 The section of a wing immediately adjacent to the fuselage. countable, uncountable
- 17 (botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground wordnet
- 18 The bottom of the thread of a threaded object. countable, uncountable
"The root diameter is the minor diameter of an external thread and the major diameter of an internal one."
- 19 a number that, when multiplied by itself some number of times, equals a given number wordnet
- 20 Of a number or expression, a number which, when raised to a specified power, yields the specified number or expression. countable, uncountable
"The cube root of 27 is 3."
- 21 A square root (understood if no power is specified; in which case, "the root of" is often abbreviated to "root"). countable, uncountable
"Multiply by root 2."
- 22 A zero (of an equation). countable, uncountable
- 23 The single node of a tree that has no parent. countable, uncountable
- 24 The primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. Inflectional stems often derive from roots. countable, uncountable
"In ſo moche that if any verbe be of the thyꝛde coniugation / I ſet out all his rotes and tenſes[…]"
- 25 A word from which another word or words are derived. countable, uncountable
- 26 The fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed. countable, uncountable
- 27 The lowest place, position, or part. countable, uncountable
"deep to the roots of hell"
- 28 In UNIX terminology, the first user account with complete access to the operating system and its configuration, found at the root of the directory structure; the person who manages accounts on a UNIX system. countable, uncountable
"I have to log in as root before I do that."
- 29 The highest directory of a directory structure which may contain both files and subdirectories. countable, uncountable
"I installed the files in the root directory."
- 30 A penis, especially the base of a penis. countable, slang, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To grow roots; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow.
"The cuttings are starting to root."
- 2 To turn up or dig with the snout. ambitransitive
"A pig roots the earth for truffles."
- 3 To cheer (on); to show support (for) and hope for the success of. (See root for.) US, intransitive
"I'm rooting for you, don't let me down!"
- 4 take root and begin to grow wordnet
- 5 To prepare, oversee, or otherwise cause the rooting of cuttings.
"We rooted some cuttings last summer."
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 To seek favour or advancement by low arts or grovelling servility; to fawn. broadly
"Thou elvish-marked, abortive, rooting hog!"
- 7 cause to take roots wordnet
- 8 To fix firmly; to establish.
"If any irregularity chanced to intervene and to cause misapprehensions, he gave them not leave to root and fasten by concealment."
- 9 To rummage; to search as if by digging in soil. intransitive
"rooting about in a junk-filled drawer"
- 10 become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style wordnet
- 11 To get root or privileged access on (a computer system or mobile phone), often through bypassing some security mechanism. slang, transitive
"We rooted his box and planted a virus on it."
- 12 Of a baby: to turn the head and open the mouth in search of food. intransitive
"When your baby is rooting, his head will turn to the side and he will open and close his mouth. If you put your finger in your baby's hand, she has a grasping reflex that makes her curl her fingers around yours and hold on."
- 13 dig with the snout wordnet
- 14 To root out; to abolish. transitive
"I will go root away the noisome weeds."
- 15 plant by the roots wordnet
- 16 To tug or pull at the reins aggressively by driving the head downwards while wearing a bit.
- 17 cheer for wordnet
- 18 To sexually penetrate. Australia, Ireland, New-Zealand, slang, vulgar
- 19 come into existence, originate wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 An English surname from Middle English from a byname from Middle English rote (“glad”).
"In July this year, Mrs. Betty Root, who is in charge of the reading centre at Reading University's Institute of Education, reported 'that there are now more backward readers than ever, in spite of the large number of teaching methods now available'."
- 2 An English surname originating as an occupation for a rote (medieval guitar)-player.
- 3 A habitational surname from Dutch for someone living near a retting place (Dutch root, from roten (“to ret”)).
- 4 A town in Lucerne canton, Switzerland.
- 5 A township in Adams County, Indiana, United States.
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A town in Montgomery County, New York, United States; named for lawyer and politician Erastus Root.
- 7 A river in Minnesota, United States; named as a translation of its native Dakota name.
- 8 A river in Wisconsin, United States.
Example
"These words are derived from the same root."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "root"?
Common synonyms include: base, origin, radical, source, stem, about origin rotation phrase.
How do you use "root" in a sentence?
These words are derived from the same root.
How do you pronounce "root"?
Pronounced /ɹuːt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
PIE word *wréh₂ds From Middle English rote, root, roote (“the underground part of a plant”), from late Old English rōt, from Old Norse rót (Icelandic rót), from Proto-Germanic *wrōts, from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds (“root”); Doublet of wort, radish, and radix.
Etymology 2
From Middle English wrōten (“to dig with the snout”), from Old English wrōtan, from Proto-West Germanic *wrōtan, from Proto-Germanic *wrōtaną (“to dig out, to root”). Related to Old English wrōt (“snout; trunk”). Loss of initial w- probably due to influence from the related noun (Etymology 1).
Etymology 3
Possibly an alteration of rout (“to make a loud noise”), influenced by hoot.