roots Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the condition of belonging to a particular place or group by virtue of social or ethnic or cultural lineage
    • his roots in Texas go back a long way
    • he went back to Sweden to search for his roots
    • his music has African roots
  2. noun (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
    root.
  3. noun the place where something begins, where it springs into being
    origin; root; beginning; rootage; source.
    • 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
  4. noun (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
    root word; radical; stem; theme; base; root.
    • thematic vowels are part of the stem
  5. noun a number that, when multiplied by itself some number of times, equals a given number
    root.
  6. noun the set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation
    root; solution.
  7. noun someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
    ascendent; antecedent; ancestor; ascendant; root.
  8. noun a simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes
    etymon; root.
  9. noun the part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves as support
    root; tooth root.
  10. verb take root and begin to grow
    root.
    • this plant roots quickly
  11. verb come into existence, originate
    root.
    • The problem roots in her depression
  12. verb plant by the roots
    root.
  13. verb dig with the snout
    rout; root; rootle.
    • the pig was rooting for truffles
  14. verb become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style
    settle; root; take root; steady down; settle down.
    • He finally settled down
  15. verb cause to take roots
    root.

WordNet