root
IPA: rˈut
noun
- The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
- A root vegetable.
- The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place.
- The part of a hair under the skin that holds the hair in place.
- The part of a hair near the skin that has not been dyed, permed, or otherwise treated.
- (figurative) The primary source; origin.
- (aviation) The section of a wing immediately adjacent to the fuselage.
- (engineering) The bottom of the thread of a threaded object.
- (arithmetic) Of a number or expression, a number which, when raised to a specified power, yields the specified number or expression.
- (arithmetic) A square root (understood if no power is specified; in which case, "the root of" is often abbreviated to "root").
- (mathematical analysis) A zero (of an equation).
- (graph theory, computing) The single node of a tree that has no parent.
- (linguistic morphology) The primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. Inflectional stems often derive from roots.
- (linguistics) A word from which another word or words are derived.
- (music) The fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed.
- The lowest place, position, or part.
- (computing) In UNIX terminology, the first user account with complete access to the operating system and its configuration, found at the root of the directory structure; the person who manages accounts on a UNIX system.
- (computing) The highest directory of a directory structure which may contain both files and subdirectories.
- (slang) A penis, especially the base of a penis.
- (Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) An act of sexual intercourse.
- (Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) A sexual partner.
- An English surname from Middle English from a byname from Middle English rote (“glad”).
- An English surname originating as an occupation for a rote (medieval guitar)-player.
- A habitational surname from Dutch for someone living near a retting place (Dutch root, from roten (“to ret”)).
- A town in Lucerne canton, Switzerland.
- A town in New York, United States; named for lawyer and politician Erastus Root.
- A river in Minnesota, United States; named as a translation of its native Dakota name.
- A river in Wisconsin, United States.
verb
- To grow roots; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow.
- To prepare, oversee, or otherwise cause the rooting of cuttings.
- To be firmly fixed; to be established.
- (computing slang, transitive) To get root or privileged access on a computer system or mobile phone, often through bypassing some security mechanism.
- (transitive, intransitive) To turn up or dig with the snout.
- (by extension) To seek favour or advancement by low arts or grovelling servility; to fawn.
- (intransitive) To rummage; to search as if by digging in soil.
- (intransitive) Of a baby: to turn the head and open the mouth in search of food.
- (transitive) To root out; to abolish.
- (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, vulgar, slang) To sexually penetrate.
- (intransitive, with "for" or "on", US) To cheer (on); to show support (for) and hope for the success of. (See root for.)
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Examples of "root" in Sentences
- The height of the root is the height of the tree.
- The root of the tree is the source of the broadcast.
- The main page is the root of the classification tree.
- The larvae feed on the roots of 'Eucalyptus' and other trees.
- The tree can regenerate from a piece of root left in the soil.
- If harm comes to the root, the rest of the tree feels the effect.
- But the goodness of the roots of the mother tree is never at issue.
- In software design the tree is upside down with the root facing the sky.
- In the grounds is a gargantuan tree, whose roots have pervaded Laputa's base.
- Acetabularia calculus grows on the roots of mangrove trees and is multicellular.