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Synonyms

root for

Idioms  

  1. 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.

Seo’s Janet is as feisty as she is loyal, making it easy to root for her and her quickly budding romance with McKnight’s worthy Alex.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

Given a choice, I always Ringo it and root for peace and love, man.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

"How talented he is and how well respected he is by his players, and what a great person he is, that just makes him someone you want to root for."

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

I root for any poor soul with residual Jets trauma, and Darnold was superb against the Rams in the NFC championship, outduelling league MVP Matthew Stafford.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

For decades, baseball fans in Seattle had to choose an eastern team to root for if they wanted a stake in the big leagues.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.