grass roots

British  

plural noun

1. 1. the ordinary people as distinct from the active leadership of a party or organization: used esp of the rank-and-file members of a political party, or of the voters themselves

   2. ( as modifier )

      the newly elected MP expressed a wish for greater contact with people at grass-roots level

2. the origin or essentials

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Etymology

Origin of grass roots

C20: sense 1 originally US, with reference to rural areas in contrast to the towns

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grass roots

On the remote east side of Mono Lake, he said the animals gobbled down grass, roots and all, depriving certain birds of the worms that live in the vegetation — their sustenance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Ideally, the money goes to invest into grass roots development — but in many cases, there seems little to show for FIFA’s largesse.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026

Martin, the Fianna Fáil party leader, told his parliamentary party on Wednesday that he "always had the best interest" of the party "at heart" and that he is "always pro grass roots".

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2025

"I started playing quite late, when I was about 10, and there was no real grass roots football in our area," she said.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2024

“The workers trap rats when they don’t satisfy me enough to get fed. Some of the grass roots are said to be tasty. I wouldn’t know.”

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer