词性: nounof plant
1 [C] the part of a plant that grows under the ground and absorbs water and minerals that it sends to the rest of the plant:
deep spreading roots * I pulled the plant up by (= including) the roots. * Tree roots can cause damage to buildings. * root crops / vegetables (= plants whose roots you can eat, such as carrots)
seealsoGRASSROOTS, TAPROOT
of hair / tooth / nail
2 [C] 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
main cause of problem
3 [C,usually sing.] the main cause of sth, such as a problem or difficult situation:
Money, or love of money, is said to be the root of all evil. * We have to get to the root of the problem. * What lies at the root of his troubles is a sense of insecurity. * What would you say was the root cause of the problem?
origin
4 [C,usually pl.] the origin or basis of sth:
Flamenco has its roots in Arabic music.
connection with place
5 (roots) [pl.] 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.
of word
6 [C] (linguistics) 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:
'Walk' is the root of 'walks', 'walked', 'walking' and 'walker'.
mathematics
7 [C] a quantity which, when multiplied by itself a particular number of times, produces another quantity
seealsoCUBEROOT, SQUAREROOT
IDIOMS
put down roots
1 (of a plant) to develop roots
2 to settle and live in one place:
After ten years travelling the world, she felt it was time to put down roots somewhere.
root and branch thoroughly and completely:
The government set out to destroy the organization root and branch. * root-and-branch reforms
take root
1 (of a plant) to develop roots
2 (of an idea) to become accepted widely:
Fortunately, militarism failed to take root in Europe as a whole.
