Root out means to find a problem and get rid of it completely: root out fraud, root out errors in a report. The image is a weed pulled up with its roots so it can't grow back. In British English it also means to find something by digging around: I rooted out an old adapter from the drawer.
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root out a problem; root something out; root it out
- The review aims to root out errors in the inventory.
- I rooted out an old adapter from the drawer.
- The organisation introduced checks to root out fraud.
What changed
First versionWe found the source of the error and rooted out it.
RevisionWe found the source of the error and rooted it out.
We say remove it or find it, with the pronoun at the end, so rooted out it can sound natural. But with a phrasal verb a short pronoun goes inside: rooted it out. A noun can go either way: root out the errors, root the errors out.
Get rid of just means remove. Root out adds a search: first track down the hidden problem, then remove it completely. Track down only means find: track down the source of the error, and fixing it is the next step.
Your turn
Choose the correct pronoun position: Once you identify the problem, ___.
Show the answer
root it out — In root out, the pronoun it goes between the verb and the particle: root it out.
Describe a problem that a check found and removed at work, at school or at home.
The final review helped us root out duplicate entries before printing the catalogue.
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