What does Root Mean?

Definitions

Definition as 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
  • a number that, when multiplied by itself some number of times, equals a given number
  • the embedded part of a bodily structure such as a tooth, nail, or hair
  • someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
  • the place where something begins, where it springs into being
  • a simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes
  • (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
  • the set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation
Definition as Verb
  • take root and begin to grow
  • come into existence, originate
  • cheer for
  • plant by the roots
  • cause to take roots
  • dig with the snout
  • become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style

Examples

  • "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"
  • "thematic vowels are part of the stem"
  • "this plant roots quickly"
  • "The problem roots in her depression"
  • "She roots for the Broncos"
  • "the pig was rooting for truffles"
  • "He finally settled down"

Part of Speech

Noun, Verb