roothold

American  

[root-hohld, root-] / ˈrutˌhoʊld, ˈrʊt- /

noun

1. attachment of a plant to soil by means of its roots; support of a plant through the growing and spreading of its roots.

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Example Sentences

She’ll also be tracking whether invasive plants are able to gain a roothold and how environmental factors such as water and sun exposure influence the vegetation community.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 18, 2023

Moisture left in the soils as the reservoir drained appears to have aided the restoration, creating a brief window for water-loving plants to get a roothold.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 18, 2023

And once they gain a roothold outside Africa, fire often follows.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 3, 2022

Of them all, Sandburg, the immigrant's son, got the surest roothold in authentic U. S. tradition, and got it perhaps by the near accident of digging for the truth about Abraham Lincoln.

From Time Magazine Archive

He went back at last in imagination and desire to the roothold of his life, and that was well and fair, for he represented the fineness of that New England inheritance.

From Charles Edward Putney An Appreciation by Various