Consult the page adapted from an English
dictionary and do Questions
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root1 /ru:t/ n [C]
1 ►PLANT◄ the part of a plant or tree that grows
under the ground and gets water form the soil: Be careful not to damage the
roots when repotting. | tree roots —see picture at germinate
2 ►CAUSE OF A PROBLEM◄ the main cause of a problem: Money
is the root of all evil. | be/lie at the root of (=be the cause of a
problem) Often allergies are at the root of a lot of the problems. | get
to the root of (=find out the cause of a problem) | root cause (=the main
reason for a problem)
3 ►OF A CUSTOM/TRADITION◄ roots the origins of a custom or tradition that has continued for a long
time: has its roots in Jazz has its roots in the folk songs of the southern
states of the US.
4 ►OF AN IDEA/BELIEF◄ the main part of an idea or
belief which all the other parts come from: be/lie at the root of Foucault
is challenging the very root of 20th century liberalism.
5 ►FAMILY CONNECTION◄ sb’s roots your con- nection with a place because you were
born there, or your family used to live there: Naita has come to Ghana in search of her roots.
6 put down roots if you put down roots somewhere, you start
to feel that this place is your home and to have relationships with the people
there
7 ►TOOTH/HAIR ETC◄ the part of a tooth, hair etc that fixes it
to the rest of your body
8 take root a) if an idea takes root, people begin to
accept or believe it: The concepts of democracy and free trade are finally beginning
to take root. b) if a plant takes root, it starts
to grow where you have planted it
9 have a (good) root round informal especially BrE
to search for something by moving other things around
10 root and branch if you destroy something root and branch,
you get rid of it completely and permanently because it is bad
11 ►LANGUAGE◄ technical the basic part of a word which shows its
main meaning, to which other parts can be added: The suffix ‘ness’ can be
added to the root ‘cold’ to form the word ‘coldness’. —compare stem1 (4)
12 ►MATHEMATICS◄ technical a number that when multiplied
by itself a certain number of times, equals the number that you have: 2 is
the fourth root of 16.
—see also cube
root, square root, grass roots
root2 v
1 ►SEARCH◄ [I always + adv/prep] to search for
something by moving things around: [+ through/in/ around] “Hang on a second,”
said Leila, rooting through her handbag for a pen. | [+ for] pigs
rooting for food
2 ►PLANT◄ a) [I] to grow roots: New shrubs will root
easily in summer.
b) [T usually
passive] to fix a plant firmly by its roots: The bush was too firmly rooted
in the hard earth to dig up easily. | root itself Clumps of thyme had
rooted themselves between the rocks. —see also deeply rooted (deeply (5))
3 be rooted in to have developed from something and be
strongly influenced by it: policies that are rooted in Marxist economic
theory
4 be rooted to the spot to be so shocked, surprised, or
frightened that you cannot move
root for sb phr v [T] informal 1 to give support and encouragement to
someone in a competition, test or difficult situation, because you want them to
succeed: Good luck – we’ll all be rooting for you! 2 especially AmE to support a sports
team or player by shouting and cheering: We’ll all be rooting for the Dallas Cowboys in the Superbowl.
root sth ↔ out phr v [T] 1 to
find out where a particular kind of problem exists and get rid of it: Racism
cannot be rooted out without strong government action. 2 informal to find something by
searching for it: I’ll try and root out something suitable for you to wear.
root sth ↔ up phr v [T] to dig or pull a plant up with its roots
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1.What’s meaning of
the word “roots” in the sentence “Many Americans have roots in Europe.”?
A. The underground part of a
plant. B. One’s connection with
a place.
C. The origins of a custom or
tradition. D.
The main cause of a problem.
2.What’s the fourth
root of 81?
A. 27. B.
9. C.
6. D.
3.
3.Which phrase can
complete the sentence “Do you think it is possible to ____ crime?”
A. root for B.
root out C. root up D.
root through
4.In which of the
following situations can we use the phrase “be rooted to the spot”?
A. A bush is so firmly rooted in
the ground that it is difficult to pull it up.
B. A football fan got excited
when his favorite football team scored a goal.
C. A girl became too scared to
walk when she caught sight of a long snake.
D. A man is unable to walk
because he was caught in a car accident years ago.
