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.
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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.
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
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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
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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
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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:
"They are an expression of our culture and a key element in shaping and preserving the land. We do not want to uproot ourselves."
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
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
Forests, he reasoned, don’t uproot and storm castles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Once a false image takes hold, it is nearly impossible to uproot, and the flood of fabricated content has a corrosive effect: It makes us doubt everything.
From Salon ● May 24, 2026
But first he had to convince Mom to uproot herself and that was not going to be easy.
From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos
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
Waterwell’s version uproots it to Connecticut, but without any real feeling of place or circumstance.
From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2022
This is not rebuilding but de-building that destroys houses, uproots trees and generates tons of debris, irreversibly degrading charming neighborhoods.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 3, 2022
This promise is, then, bad, and uproots the whole Law.
From Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions. Vol. 2 by Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg
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
Three successive hurricanes tore through the spine of Florida’s citrus belt and uprooted entire groves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 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
Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which hit the region in mid-April, knocked out power for tens of thousands of inhabitants, uprooted trees, overturned cars and ripped metal roofs off buildings.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
It was very hard work: The smaller trees and bushes had to be burned or uprooted.
From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park
In Agliano Terme, Filippo Mobrici refuses to consider the idea of uprooting vines.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
“The uprooting of the human being was a declared program.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
It’s hard to predict if uprooting yourself will bring more pros and fewer cons.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 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
She would count uprooting her family as disruptive.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
