root for

Idioms

Cheer on, give moral support to, as in The fans were out rooting for their team, or I've been rooting for you to get that promotion. This expression may come from the British verb rout, which is used of cattle and means “bellow.” [Late 1800s]

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.

The knuckleheads causing civic havoc should be sentenced to root for the Brooklyn Nets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026

The word “credit” traces back to the Latin root for “to believe.”

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

"She's going to do well, and we all root for Britney," Goldstein told reporters.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

The audience will root for him, yes, but they won’t have any understanding of who Davidson is as a person.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026

So I had to root for Methuselah to learn to be free.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023