Rootle

//ˈɹuːtəl// verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    to dig into the ground, with the snout.

    "Once, presumably, this quadrangle with its smooth lawns, its massive buildings, and the chapel itself was marsh too, where the grasses waved and the swine rootled."

  2. 2
    dig with the snout wordnet
  3. 3
    to search for something from a drawer, closet, etc.; to dig out.

    "1908, Rudyard Kipling, “Regulus” 'There's a tin of cocoa in my study somewhere,' Perowne shouted after him. 'Rootle round till you find it, and take it up.'"

Synonyms

All synonyms
rootroot aboutroutrout

Example

More examples

"Once, presumably, this quadrangle with its smooth lawns, its massive buildings, and the chapel itself was marsh too, where the grasses waved and the swine rootled."

Etymology

From root (“to dig”) + -le (frequentative suffix).

Related phrases

dig out

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.