uproot
Americanverb (used with object)
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to pull out by or as if by the roots: root.
The hurricane uprooted many trees and telephone poles.
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to remove violently or tear away from a native place or environment.
The industrial revolution uprooted large segments of the rural population.
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to destroy or eradicate as if by pulling out roots: root.
The conquerors uprooted many of the Native traditions.
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to displace, as from a home or country; tear away, as from customs or a way of life.
to uproot a people.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to pull up by or as if by the roots
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to displace (a person or persons) from native or habitual surroundings
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to remove or destroy utterly
Other Word Forms
- uprootedness noun
- uprooter noun
Etymology
Origin of uproot
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.
Efforts to help the crisis-hit industry include the government's latest 130-million-euro "arrachage" fund that opened last Friday, offering subsidies to loss-making owners to uproot their vines.
From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026
Batty did not uproot during his time at Blackburn, or even when he made the switch to Newcastle in 1996.
From BBC • Jan. 7, 2026
Most of us can’t simply uproot our life, quit our jobs and move to a carefully curated farmhouse in the country.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
More had settled elsewhere and didn’t want to uproot themselves again, she said.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025
What makes them uproot and leave everything they’ve known for a great unknown beyond the horizon?
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
