extirpate

American  

[ek-ster-peyt, ik-stur-peyt] / ˈɛk stərˌpeɪt, ɪkˈstɜr peɪt /

verb (used with object)

extirpated, extirpating

1. to remove or destroy totally; do away with; exterminate.

2. to pull up by or as if by the roots; root up.

   to extirpate an unwanted hair.

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extirpate British  

/ ˈɛkstəˌpeɪt /

verb

1. to remove or destroy completely

2. to pull up or out; uproot

3. to remove (an organ or part) surgically

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Other Word Forms

• extirpation noun
• extirpative adjective
• extirpator noun

Etymology

Origin of extirpate

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin ex(s)tirpātus “plucked up by the stem” (past participle of ex(s)tirpāre ), equivalent to ex- ex- ¹ + stirp- (stem of stirps ) “stem” + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

"Feral American mink pose a particular risk to island biodiversity, especially to ground-nesting birds and small mammals which in certain circumstances they may have the potential to extirpate," Keen explained.

From Salon • Dec. 2, 2022

These things are diffuse, pervasive and difficult to extirpate.

From Washington Post • Jan. 14, 2020

It was a poor return for American backing for the Baghdad government’s drive to extirpate Islamic State and regain lost territory.

From The Guardian • May 15, 2018

Yet however hard they exercise they cannot extirpate the memories of their high-school years.

From Economist • Aug. 11, 2016

To extirpate is to exterminate or destroy a living entity or group so completely that it ceases to exist forever.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz