roots

/ (ruːts) /


adjective
  1. (of popular music) going back to the origins of a style, esp in being genuine and unpretentious: roots rock

Derived forms of roots

  • rootsy, adjective

Words Nearby roots

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 roots in a sentence

  • Of course, considerations of weight have to be taken into account, but the more mould round the roots the better.

    How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard Bastin
  • The offspring of the ungodly shall not bring forth many branches, and make a noise as unclean roots upon the top of a rock.

  • Yet without a large amount of their roots these Ferns can never be satisfactorily established.

    How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard Bastin
  • Great care is necessary when removing the Ferns to do as little damage as possible to the roots.

    How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard Bastin
  • First of all, wrap a portion of damp newspaper round the roots, and then tie up with dry paper.

    How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard Bastin

Cultural definitions for Roots

Roots

(1976) A Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by the African-American author Alex Haley, later made into a popular television drama. It traces a black American man's heritage to Africa, where his ancestors had been captured and sold as slaves.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.