See Also: root(2)(dictionary)
ROOT(law)
root cap(medicine)
root(4)(dictionary)
Root(health)
root(1)(dictionary)
root(3)(dictionary)
tap root(dictionary)
root(encyclopedia)
root tip(medicine)

root(4) (iou)



root verb2. [ru:t] In sense 1 also (earlier) wroot. See also ROUT verb4.
[Old English wrotan = Old Norse rota, Middle & mod. Low German wroten, Middle & mod. Dutch wroeten, Old High German ruoen rel. to Old English wrot, Low German wrote, German Russel snout, and perh. ult. Latin rodere gnaw. Partly directly from Old Norse.]
verb intrans. & trans. Of an animal, esp. a pig: turn up (the ground etc.) with the snout, beak, etc., in search of food. OE.
R. Macaulay The lean pigs scuffled and rooted in the dark forest.
a. verb intrans. Poke about, rummage. Also foll. by about, around. Cf. earlier ROUT verb4 1b. M19.
New Yorker Bomb-squad officers..were..rooting through nearby trash cans. K. Amis Victor began to root clumsily in a cupboard. P. Lively What's he been doing rooting around in Daddy's stuff?
b. verb trans. Find or extract by rummaging. Foll. by out, up. M19.
verb intrans. Foll. by for: cheer or applaud (a sports team etc.); gen. support. colloq. (orig. US). L19.
Golf World The fans, rooting for a British victory, cheered his bunkered ball. K.O. I'm rooting for him in his multi-charge lawsuit.
b. verb trans. Cheer or spur on. colloq. (chiefly US). M20.
Phrases: rootin' tootin' adjectival phr. (slang, chiefly N. Amer.) noisy, boisterous; rip-roaring, lively.
rooter noun2 (colloq., chiefly US) (a) a person who or animal (esp. a pig) which roots; (b) a machine for loosening the surface of the ground: M17.