root
The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
Example
“This tree's roots can go as deep as twenty metres underground.”
Other meanings
A root vegetable.
The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place.
“Root damage is a common problem of overbrushing.”
A kind of
- plant organ
Kinds of root
- horseradish
- radish
- oyster plant
- cassava
- carrot
- taproot
Example sentences
Word history
From Old Norse "rót".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “root” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.