Meaning & Definition of Root in English

1. (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

2. The place where something begins, where it springs into being

• "The italian beginning of the renaissance"

• "Jupiter was the origin of the radiation"

• "Pittsburgh is the source of the ohio river"

• "Communism's russian root"

3. (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed

• "Thematic vowels are part of the stem"

4. A number that, when multiplied by itself some number of times, equals a given number

5. The set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation

6. Someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)

7. A simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes

8. The part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves as support

1. Take root and begin to grow

• "This plant roots quickly"

2. Come into existence, originate

• "The problem roots in her depression"

3. Plant by the roots

4. Dig with the snout

• "The pig was rooting for truffles"

5. Become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style

• "He finally settled down"

6. Cause to take roots