uproot
Americanverb (used with object)
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uproots,
present (3rd person singular)
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uprooted,
past participle, past
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uprooting
present participle
-
to pull out by or as if by the roots.
The hurricane uprooted many trees and telephone poles.
-
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.
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)
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uproots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
uprooted,
past participle, past
-
uprooting
present participle
verb
-
to pull up by or as if by the roots
-
to displace (a person or persons) from native or habitual surroundings
-
to remove or destroy utterly
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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uprootsimple
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uprootssimple
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have uprootedperfect
-
has uprootedperfect
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am uprootingprogressive
-
are uprootingprogressive
-
is uprootingprogressive
-
have been uprootingperfect progressive
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has been uprootingperfect progressive
Past
-
uprootedsimple
-
had uprootedperfect
-
was uprootingprogressive
-
were uprootingprogressive
-
had been uprootingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of uproot
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.
Vocabulary lists containing uproot
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Purple Hibiscus
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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.
See Examples For:
Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison faces a pivotal decision: Should he uproot his Hollywood studio — the birthplace of such film classics as “Sunset Boulevard,” “The Godfather” and “Beverly Hills Cop”?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
But Reger has no plans to uproot Neura's business, which is collaborating with German car component suppliers Bosch and Schaeffler on factory automation.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
"I have family in Dumfries, so I wouldn't be looking to uproot them and move to Carlisle to take advantage of paying less tax at this amount," he said.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women.
From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2026
“But Hitler won’t uproot us,” said the man.
From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys
Owners say they are easy to carry and set up and are safer than umbrellas, which can cause injuries or death when the wind uproots them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
It definitely is a very important topic, and something that needs to be addressed in a way that uproots all of it.
From The Verge ● Mar. 29, 2022
In the book, Allie, an inventor thoroughly sick of modern life and convinced the next world war is imminent, uproots his family from Massachusetts to Honduras, where he tries to create a self-styled utopia.
From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2021
But Kong isn’t playful today; he uproots a tree, fashions it into a spear and flings it angrily into the sky.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2021
It is when the blind mole tunnels along, smelling here and there for grubs and worms, that he uproots the plants and for that reason we have to catch him.
From Daddy Takes Us to the Garden The Daddy Series for Little Folks by Howard Roger Garis
To her, the word rehabilitation seems painfully inadequate: "How can a life built over decades be uprooted and planted somewhere else?" she asks.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
As they fan out, we sense that they are never more themselves than when unencumbered by, and uprooted from, their citified habits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
On its 53-mile path to the Pacific Ocean, water ripped through orchards, uprooted orange groves and flipped cars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
He uprooted the green bushes on his small farm in a remote corner of the province of Meta in Colombia, reachable only by river, and replaced them with legal crops like cassava and plantain.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
She found the boy standing alone in the yard with a terrified expression on his face, the old withered mushrooms uprooted at his feet.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
I might as well have tried uprooting a fire hydrant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
In exchange for uprooting their coca plants, farmers would also get technical support, including from agronomists, and advice on soil management.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
More than a million people displaced from the south face an "uprooting... with terrible repercussions," she said.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
Ours is an age not only of cultural backsliding but also of people uprooting themselves for the sake of safety and reinvention.
From Salon ● May 20, 2026
The change helped insulate agents from local corruption and created a truly national force, yet it also ignored regional difference and had the dehumanizing effect of constantly uprooting employees.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
