roots out
Finds and eliminates
To root out is to find and eliminate something hidden or unwanted.
The image is of pulling a plant up by the roots so it can't grow back.
Someone roots out corruption, inefficiency, or spies embedded in an organization.
The new commissioner vowed to root out bribery in the department.
The phrase implies thorough, determined effort—not just finding the problem but destroying it completely.
- searchesMultiple seeking efforts
- uncoversReveals something hidden
- detectsDiscovers or notices
- digs upExtracts from earth
- uprootRemove from the ground
eradicates · extracts · probes · eliminates · identifies · removes · exposes · investigates · purges · abolishes · examines · gets to the bottom of · reveals · sources · cleanses · tracks down · origins · foundations
roots outconceals
Keeps from being seen
hides · covers up · buries · suppresses · masks
roots outimplants
Surgically embedded devices
plants · establishes · introduces · embeds · instills
roots outoverlooks
Misses or surveys
ignores · neglects · looks the other way · disregards · misses
root, roots, rooted, rooting, rootless, rootedness, out, outing, outings