📒 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
- deep spreading roots
- Tree roots can cause damage to buildings.
- by the roots I pulled the plant up by the roots (= including the roots).
📒 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
📒 the main cause of something, such as a problem or difficult situation
- root of something Money, or love of money, is said to be the root of all evil.
- We have to get to the root of the problem.
- at the root of something What lies at the root of his troubles is a sense of insecurity.
📒 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
📒 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.
📒 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’.
📒 a quantity which, when multiplied by itself a particular number of times, produces another quantity
📒 to develop roots
📒 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.
📒 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
📒 to develop roots
- I hope those cuttings will take root.
📒 to become accepted widely
- Fortunately, militarism failed to take root in Europe as a whole.