root-and-branch

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adjective

on a large scale or without discrimination; wholesaleroot-and-branch reforms

adverb root and branch

entirely; completely; utterlyBrazil needs reform root and branch

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use root-and-branch in a sentence

And it begins with the root-and-branch rejection of Abraham Lincoln.
The Rancid Abraham Lincoln–Haters of the Libertarian Right|Rich Lowry|June 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He had a bold, forward-looking mind, and was in favour of root-and-branch changes.
War Letters of a Public-School Boy|Paul Jones.
Thenceforward it was tacitly agreed between them that all root-and-branch criticism of Kitty and her ways was taboo.
The Marriage of William Ashe|Mrs. Humphry Ward
Thus the would-be root-and-branch reforms found themselves in a dilemma.
Russia|Donald Mackenzie Wallace

Reform is impossible; therefore let there be root-and-branch revolution.
The Life of Mazzini|Bolton King
If you go in for root-and-branch efforts, you will get root-and-branch results.
The Authoritative Life of General William Booth|George Scott Railton

Other Idioms and Phrases with root-and-branch

root and branch

Utterly, completely, as in The company has been transformed root and branch by the new management. Alluding to both the underground and aboveground parts of a tree, this idiom was first recorded in 1640.