uproot
Americanverb (used with object)
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uproots,
present (3rd person singular)
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uprooted,
past participle, past
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uprooting
present participle
-
to pull out by or as if by the roots.
The hurricane uprooted many trees and telephone poles.
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to remove violently or tear away from a native place or environment.
The industrial revolution uprooted large segments of the rural population.
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to destroy or eradicate as if by pulling out roots.
The conquerors uprooted many of the Native traditions.
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to displace, as from a home or country; tear away, as from customs or a way of life.
to uproot a people.
verb (used without object)
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uproots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
uprooted,
past participle, past
-
uprooting
present participle
verb
-
to pull up by or as if by the roots
-
to displace (a person or persons) from native or habitual surroundings
-
to remove or destroy utterly
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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uprootsimple
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uprootssimple
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have uprootedperfect
-
has uprootedperfect
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am uprootingprogressive
-
are uprootingprogressive
-
is uprootingprogressive
-
have been uprootingperfect progressive
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has been uprootingperfect progressive
Past
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uprootedsimple
-
had uprootedperfect
-
was uprootingprogressive
-
were uprootingprogressive
-
had been uprootingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of uproot
Explanation
When you uproot people, you move them from one place to a completely new one. Your parents may need to uproot you if your mom gets a new job all the way across the country. One meaning of the verb uproot is "move," especially when a person is forced to move. Another way to use uproot is more literal: to pull a plant out of the ground, roots and all. You might, for example, uproot your favorite rose bush and replant it in a sunnier spot in your garden. Interestingly, the figurative sense of uproot is about a hundred years older than the literal meaning, which was first used in the late 1600's.
Vocabulary lists containing uproot
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison faces a pivotal decision: Should he uproot his Hollywood studio — the birthplace of such film classics as “Sunset Boulevard,” “The Godfather” and “Beverly Hills Cop”?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Some 180 applications were received for the role of physiologist alone, with Rachel McCormick willing to uproot her life from Australia to take the job.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Forests, he reasoned, don’t uproot and storm castles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
But Reger has no plans to uproot Neura's business, which is collaborating with German car component suppliers Bosch and Schaeffler on factory automation.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
There’s nothing to uproot them so they should be okay for a while.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
Owners say they are easy to carry and set up and are safer than umbrellas, which can cause injuries or death when the wind uproots them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
It definitely is a very important topic, and something that needs to be addressed in a way that uproots all of it.
From The Verge ● Mar. 29, 2022
Waterwell’s version uproots it to Connecticut, but without any real feeling of place or circumstance.
From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2022
This is not rebuilding but de-building that destroys houses, uproots trees and generates tons of debris, irreversibly degrading charming neighborhoods.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 3, 2022
At times he was as fierce as the storm that uproots oaks; and then again he was as mild as the zephyr caressing the violets....
From The Last Words of Distinguished Men and Women (Real and Traditional) by Frederic Rowland Marvin
The partition of India in 1947 uprooted more than 10 million people, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
On its 53-mile path to the Pacific Ocean, water ripped through orchards, uprooted orange groves and flipped cars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Aamer Jamal had his middle stump uprooted in Greaves' next over as the seamer speared one through his defences.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which hit the region in mid-April, knocked out power for tens of thousands of inhabitants, uprooted trees, overturned cars and ripped metal roofs off buildings.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
She had been pleased at first, watching Moody and her lonely daughter, who had been uprooted so many times, who had never really been close to anyone.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
“The uprooting of the human being was a declared program.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
In exchange for uprooting their coca plants, farmers would also get technical support, including from agronomists, and advice on soil management.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
It’s hard to predict if uprooting yourself will bring more pros and fewer cons.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
More than a million people displaced from the south face an "uprooting... with terrible repercussions," she said.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
The change helped insulate agents from local corruption and created a truly national force, yet it also ignored regional difference and had the dehumanizing effect of constantly uprooting employees.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
