Advertisement
Advertisement
taproot
/ ˈtæpˌruːt /
noun
- the large single root of plants such as the dandelion, which grows vertically downwards and bears smaller lateral roots
taproot
/ tăp′ro̅o̅t′,-rt′ /
- The main root in gymnosperms, eudicotyledons, and magnoliids, usually stouter than the lateral roots and growing straight downward from the stem. The taproot develops from the primary root. The taproot and its lateral roots penetrate deeper into the soil than the fibrous roots characteristic of monocotyledons.
- Compare fibrous root
Discover More
Notes
Figuratively, a “taproot” is the source of an idea or work: “His childhood in Wales is the taproot of his poetry.”
Discover More
Derived Forms
- ˈtapˌrooted, adjective
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of taproot1
C17: from tap ² + root 1
Discover More
Example Sentences
Some of them had sent down a taproot nearly or quite three inches in length.
From Project Gutenberg
The root of evil, the taproot from which the evils of modern society develop, is the profit idea.
From Project Gutenberg
In truth, the leading foible of Hodgkinson through life, was vanity—the great taproot of all his irregularities and errors.
From Project Gutenberg
By the following autumn, the better seedlings will have ten or twelve inches of top, and two and a half or three feet of taproot.
From Project Gutenberg
In normally developed trees of the same age, the taproot would have been three or four feet long.
From Project Gutenberg
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse