uproot
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to pull out by or as if by the roots: root.
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.
-
to destroy or eradicate as if by pulling out roots: root.
The conquerors uprooted many of the Native traditions.
-
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
-
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
- 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
An estimated 75,000—some 2.5% of the population—had no desire to live within an independent republic that held memories of “terror, disillusion, and death,” preferring to uproot themselves to Canada and beyond.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 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
This depends on whether you've lost everything in your fire or need to uproot for a period of time while your home undergoes the restoration or partial rebuild period.
From Salon • Feb. 15, 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.
