# roots

Pronunciation: say "ROOTS" /ɹuːts/

## Noun

1. Plural of root. — plural of root
   - Simple: Plural of root. Use this form when talking about more than one root.
   - _The old oak's roots cracked the sidewalk over the years._
   - _Dentists sometimes treat infected roots inside a tooth._
2. A person's ancestry: the family and culture they descend from.
   - Simple: The family and place that a person comes from.
   - _After decades abroad, he finally returned to reconnect with his roots._
   - _The festival celebrates the immigrant roots of the whole neighborhood._
3. The beginnings or origin from which something develops.
   - Simple: The first start or beginning of something.
   - _Jazz has its roots in the African American communities of the South._
   - _Historians traced the movement's roots to a single pamphlet._
4. Newly grown hair near the scalp, often gray or its natural color and different from the dyed lengths.
   - Simple: The part of the hair near the scalp that has grown out, showing its real color.
   - _Her roots had come in dark beneath the bleached ends._
   - _Touching up the roots every few weeks keeps the color looking even._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/roots (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).