Noun
- 1. root, plant organ
- usage: (botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground
- 2. beginning, origin, root, rootage, source, point
- usage: the place where something begins, where it springs into being; "the Italian beginning of the Renaissance"; "Jupiter was the origin of the radiation"; "Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River"; "communism's Russian root"
- 3. root, root word, base, stem, theme, radical, form, word form, signifier, descriptor
- usage: (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem"
- 4. root, number
- usage: a number that, when multiplied by itself some number of times, equals a given number
- 5. solution, root, set
- usage: the set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation
- 6. ancestor, ascendant, ascendent, antecedent, root, relative, relation
- usage: someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
- 7. etymon, root, form, word form, signifier, descriptor
- usage: a simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes
- 8. root, tooth root, structure, anatomical structure, complex body part, bodily structure, body structure
- usage: the part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves as support
Verb
- 1. root, grow
- usage: take root and begin to grow; "this plant roots quickly"
- 2. root, become
- usage: come into existence, originate; "The problem roots in her depression"
- 3. root, plant, set
- usage: plant by the roots
- 4. rout, root, rootle, dig, delve, cut into, turn over
- usage: dig with the snout; "the pig was rooting for truffles"
- 5. settle, root, take root, steady down, settle down, stabilize, stabilise
- usage: become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style; "He finally settled down"
- 6. root, grow
- usage: cause to take roots
WordNet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University.
All rights reserved.Definition and meaning of root (Dictionary)