Online OXFORD Collocation Dictionary

root noun

¹ of a plant

ADJ. deep, shallow | gnarled

ROOT + VERB develop, grow | put down, take I hope those cuttings will take root.

ROOT + NOUN system | crops, vegetables

PREP. by its/the ~s She pulled the shrub out by its roots.

² roots: place where you feel you belong

ADJ. humble Despite his wealth, he never forgot his humble roots. | cultural severed from our cultural roots by industrialization | middle-class, peasant, working-class | French, Scottish, etc.

VERB + ROOT get/go back to, return to My husband wants to go back to his Irish roots. | trace They can trace their roots back to the sixteenth century. | put down We haven't been here long enough to put down roots. | cut yourself off from

³ cause/source

ADJ. deep | very | common The two languages share a common root. | historical

VERB + ROOT have | get at/to, go to I've spent months trying to get to the root of the problem. | lie at

ROOT + NOUN cause

PREP. at (the ~ of) It is a moral question at root. His fears of loneliness lay at the very root of his inability to leave. | ~ in The unrest has roots in religious differences.

PHRASES the root of all evil They consider globalization to be the root of all evil. | the root of the matter/problem I expect money is at the root of the matter.