1root1 (ruːt
)
Definitions
noun
- the organ of a higher plant that anchors the rest of the plant in the ground, absorbs water and mineral salts from the soil, and does not bear leaves or buds
- (loosely) any of the branches of such an organ
- any plant part, such as a rhizome or tuber, that is similar to a root in structure, function, or appearance
- the essential, fundamental, or primary part or nature of something ⇒
your analysis strikes at the root of the problem
- ((as modifier) ⇒
the root cause of the problem
- the essential, fundamental, or primary part or nature of something ⇒
- anatomy the embedded portion of a tooth, nail, hair, etc
- origin or derivation, esp as a source of growth, vitality, or existence
- (plural) a person's sense of belonging in a community, place, etc, esp the one in which he was born or brought up
- an ancestor or antecedent
- Bible a descendant
- the form of a word that remains after removal of all affixes; a morpheme with lexical meaning that is not further subdivisible into other morphemes with lexical meaning Compare stem1 (sense 9)
- mathematics a number or quantity that when multiplied by itself a certain number of times equals a given number or quantity ⇒
3 is a cube root of 27
solution mathematics a number that when substituted for the variable satisfies a given equation ⇒2 is a root of x³ – 2x – 4 = 0
- music (in harmony) the note forming the foundation of a chord
- Australian New Zealand slang sexual intercourse
- See root and branch
verb
take root (intr) to put forth or establish a root and begin to growtake root (intr) to become established, embedded, or effective- (tr) to fix or embed with or as if with a root or roots
- Australian New Zealand slang to have sexual intercourse (with)
Alternative Forms
ˈrooter noun ˈrootˌlike adjective ˈrooty adjective ˈrootiness nounWord Origin
Old English rōt , from Old Norse; related to Old English wyrtwortSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
source,
cause,
heart,
bottom,
beginnings,
base,
seat,
occasion,
seed,
foundation,
origin,
core,
fundamental,
essence,
nucleus,
starting point,
germ,
crux,
nub,
derivation,
fountainhead,
mainspring,
2root2 (ruːt)
Definitions
verb (intr)
- (of a pig) to burrow in or dig up the earth in search of food, using the snout
- foll by about, around, in etc informal to search vigorously but unsystematically
Alternative Forms
ˈrooter nounWord Origin
C16: changed (through influence of rootC16: changed (through influence of 1) from earlier , from Old English ; related to Old English snout, Middle Dutch mole) from earlier wroot , from Old English wrōtan ; related to Old English wrōt snout, Middle Dutch wrōte mole3root3
Definitions
verb
- (intr) usually foll by for informal to give support to (a contestant, team, etc), as by cheering
Alternative Forms
ˈrooter nounWord Origin
C19: perhaps a variant of Scottish rout to make a loud noise, from Old Norse rauta to roarTranslations
- British English:
root
The roots of a plant are the parts that grow underground....the twisted roots of an apple tree.ruːt NOUN ...the twisted roots of an apple tree.
- Spanish:
raíz
nf
- French:
racine
nf
- German:
Wurzel
nf
- Chinese: 根 n
- Arabic: جِذْر n
- Portuguese: raiz nf
- Russian: корень nm
- Croatian: korijen nm
- Czech: kořen nm
- Danish: rod nutr
- Dutch: oorsprong nm
- Finnish: juuri n
- Greek: ρίζα nf
- Italian: radice nf
- Japanese: 根 n
- Korean: 뿌리 n
- Norwegian: rot nm
- Polish: korzeń nm
- Brazilian Portuguese: raiz nf
- European Spanish:
raíz
nf
- Swedish: rot nutr
- Thai: ราก n
- Turkish: kök n
- Vietnamese: rễ cây n
Usage examples
He tore the sack off to find himself in the root cellar, sprawled among baskets of turnips.
, A Time of War (1993)After your root canal, she sneaks painkillers and passes out.
Maxim (2005)I don't know what I'm supposed to think or who I'm supposed to root for," Kudrow told me.
Globe and Mail (2003)The purging, cleansing, specific remedy will root out all venereal infection.
Glasgow Herald (2001)The root cause of this problem, what I call `boundary running ', is of course territorial.
, THE DOG LISTENER: Learning the Language of your Best Friend (2002)