uproot

American  

[uhp-root, -root] / ʌpˈrut, -ˈrʊt /

verb (used with object)

1. to pull out by or as if by the roots.

   The hurricane uprooted many trees and telephone poles.

2. to remove violently or tear away from a native place or environment.

   The industrial revolution uprooted large segments of the rural population.

3. to destroy or eradicate as if by pulling out roots.

   The conquerors uprooted many of the Native traditions.

   Synonyms:

   remove, eliminate, banish, extirpate

4. to displace, as from a home or country; tear away, as from customs or a way of life.

   to uproot a people.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become uprooted.

uproot British  

/ ʌpˈruːt /

verb

1. to pull up by or as if by the roots

2. to displace (a person or persons) from native or habitual surroundings

3. to remove or destroy utterly

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Other Word Forms

• uprootedness noun
• uprooter noun

Etymology

Origin of uproot

First recorded in 1610–20; up- + root ²

Explanation

When you uproot people, you move them from one place to a completely new one. Your parents may need to uproot you if your mom gets a new job all the way across the country. One meaning of the verb uproot is "move," especially when a person is forced to move. Another way to use uproot is more literal: to pull a plant out of the ground, roots and all. You might, for example, uproot your favorite rose bush and replant it in a sunnier spot in your garden. Interestingly, the figurative sense of uproot is about a hundred years older than the literal meaning, which was first used in the late 1600's.

Example Sentences

To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

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

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

If he had decided to run for the Dallas-area seat, he would have had to resign from Congress, uproot his family and move to Texas.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

“You know, she has a daughter, too, and it wouldn’t be fair to make them uproot their lives when they’re doing a favor for us.”

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• annihilate
• demolish
• displace
• eradicate
• exterminate
• overthrow
• overturn
• wipe out