root out

verb

1. tr, adverb to remove or eliminate completely

   we must root out inefficiency

Idioms and Phrases

Search for, seek to discover, as in He was trying to root out the reason for her long absence . This idiom alludes to the way hogs dig by using their snouts. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly parroted propaganda used in Nazi Germany when pledging to “root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.”

From Los Angeles Times

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: "We will stop at nothing to root out criminal networks wherever we find them."

From BBC

“My office is committed to rooting out corruption in the international marketplace and protecting investors from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the integrity of our financial markets,” he added.

From BBC

It calls for rooting out “waste, fraud, and abuse,” that all-purpose chimera evoked by budget-cutters as a painless way of reducing costs, but which no one ever seems to accomplish.

From Los Angeles Times

A Republican Target: With Donald Trump’s election victory, Republicans are now poised to escalate their efforts to root out what they see as progressive ideology in higher education.

From New York Times

Related Words

• bore
• bulldoze
• burrow
• clean
• discover
• dredge
• drill
• enter
• excavate
• exhume
• go into
• gouge
• harvest
• penetrate
• scoop
• search
• shovel
• sift
• uncover
• unearth