root
root — 名詞
1. the portion of a plant found beneath the earth's surface, which draws moisture a
根；根部
植物長在地下的部分
the portion of a plant found beneath the earth's surface, which draws moisture and nutrients from the surrounding soil while keeping the plant upright and stable.
The oak tree's roots spread wide under the garden soil.
那棵橡樹的根系在花園的土壤下方延伸得很廣。
collocation: spread wide / deep roots
Ramón carefully dug around the carrot to avoid cutting the root.
Ramón 小心地挖開胡蘿蔔周圍的土，以免切到根部。
concrete action: dig around to avoid cutting
These plants have shallow roots, so they need watering every day.
這些植物的根很淺，所以需要每天澆水。
When a tree falls in a storm, the roots are often pulled out of the ground.
樹木在暴風雨中倒下時，根部常常會被從土裡拔起。
用法筆記
Often appears in the plural form roots when referring to the whole underground system of a plant.
2. the main reason that a bad situation or problem exists; the thing from which som
根源；禍根
壞事或問題的根本原因
the main reason that a bad situation or problem exists; the thing from which something unpleasant grows.
Lack of sleep is often the root of many health problems.
睡眠不足往往是許多健康問題的根源。
the root of + problem / issue
The police are trying to get to the root of the corruption scandal.
警方正試圖查明這起貪腐醜聞的根源。
get to the root of something
Christopher believes that poverty is at the root of most social conflicts.
Christopher 認為貧窮是大多數社會衝突的根本原因。
The committee traced the root of the financial crisis back to poor lending practices.
委員會將金融危機的根源追溯至不良的放貸做法。
用法筆記
Common in fixed phrases like 'root cause', 'the root of the problem', and 'get to the root of something'. Unlike sense 3 (ORIGINS), this sense has a negative connotation — the thing being described is undesirable.
常見錯誤
3. a person's family, cultural, or geographic background; the place or community th
淵源；祖籍
家族、文化或地理背景
a person's family, cultural, or geographic background; the place or community that a person or thing comes from originally.
Padma decided to return to her roots in southern India after twenty years abroad.
Padma 決定在旅居海外二十年後，回到印度南部的家鄉。
return to one's roots
The music festival celebrates the Celtic roots of the region's folk traditions.
這場音樂節旨在慶祝該地區民間傳統的塞爾特文化根源。
cultural / ethnic roots
Yael's family has deep roots in the farming community of the valley.
Yael 的家族在山谷的農業社區中紮根已久。
Many traditional dishes have their roots in home cooking rather than restaurant kitchens.
許多傳統菜餚的根源來自家常烹飪，而非餐廳廚房。
- heritage
traditions and values passed down; broader and more abstract than roots
- background
the kind of family and experience someone has; less emotional
- ancestry
specifically about family lines going back generations
用法筆記
Almost always used in the plural (roots). The emphasis is on connection to a place, culture, or tradition — different from sense 2 (ROOT CAUSE), which focuses on negative causation.
4. the section of a tooth, hair strand, or fingernail that sits beneath the skin su
根部（人體）
牙、髮、指甲長在體內的部位
the section of a tooth, hair strand, or fingernail that sits beneath the skin surface or gum, holding it firmly in place.
The dentist said the infection had reached the root of my molar.
牙醫說感染已經蔓延到我的臼齒根部。
tooth root / root of a tooth
Zuri noticed a grey hair growing from the root near her temple.
Zuri 注意到她太陽穴附近有一根白頭髮從髮根長出來。
hair root / grows from the root
Damage to the nail root can make the fingernail grow back with an odd shape.
指甲根受損可能導致指甲長回來時形狀怪異。
The dentist used an X-ray to check whether the root of the cracked tooth was still healthy.
牙醫用X光檢查那顆裂掉的牙齒牙根是否還健康。
用法筆記
Often used in compound nouns: tooth root, hair root, nail root. The root is the living part that produces new growth (for hair/nails) or anchors the structure (for teeth).
5. the smallest meaningful unit in a language, to which prefixes and suffixes may b
字根；詞根
單詞最基本的形式
the smallest meaningful unit in a language, to which prefixes and suffixes may be attached to build related vocabulary.
The Latin root 'scrib' means 'to write' and appears in 'describe' and 'inscribe'.
拉丁文字根 'scrib' 意思是「書寫」，出現在 describe 和 inscribe 中。
Latin / Greek root + examples
Quan looked up the root of 'photograph' and found it comes from Greek words for 'light' and 'writing'.
Quan 查了 photograph 的字根，發現它來自希臘文中代表「光」和「書寫」的詞。
root of a word / comes from
Takeshi recognised the Greek root 'bio' in 'biodegradable' and guessed it meant 'life'.
Takeshi 在 biodegradable 這個字裡認出希臘字根 bio，猜測它的意思是「生命」。
The word 'biology' has the Greek root 'bios', which means 'life'.
biology 這個字有希臘字根 bios，意思是「生命」。
- affix
a prefix or suffix added to a root
用法筆記
In linguistics, a root differs from a stem or base — the root is the smallest meaningful part. But in everyday learning, 'root' is used more loosely to mean any core word from which related words are formed.
6. a value that makes a mathematical equation true when it is put in place of the u
解；根
能讓方程式成立的數值
a value that makes a mathematical equation true when it is put in place of the unknown variable.
The quadratic equation x² − 9 = 0 has two roots, which are the numbers 3 and −3.
方程式 x² − 9 = 0 有兩個根：3 和 −3。
has two roots (equation solving)
Sumin solved the quadratic and found the roots were real numbers.
Sumin 解了這個二次方程式，發現根都是實數。
real roots / complex roots
For her algebra test, Anong solved x³ − 8 = 0 and found that 2 was a real root.
Anong 為了代數考試解了 x³ − 8 = 0，發現 2 是一個實根。
Noa solved for the roots of the polynomial and found both were positive integers.
Noa 解出了該多項式的根，發現兩個根都是正整數。
用法筆記
Distinct from sense 7 (SQUARE ROOT). In this sense, 'root' means any solution to an equation — not limited to square roots. For example, the roots of x − 5 = 0 is just 5.
7. a value that serves as a factor in repeated self-multiplication a set count of t
根（次方）
自乘若干次得到指定數的數
a value that serves as a factor in repeated self-multiplication a set count of times to arrive at a particular result — the square root of 16 is 4, since 4 × 4 = 16.
The square root of 64 is 8, because multiplying 8 by itself gives the total of 64.
64 的平方根是 8，因為 8 × 8 等於 64。
square root of [number]
Élise used a calculator to find the cube root of 27.
Élise 用計算機求出了 27 的立方根。
cube root / square root
For her math homework, Ayana calculated the square root of 144 and got 12.
Ayana 在寫數學作業時算了 144 的平方根，答案是 12。
The cube root of 125 is 5, because multiplying 5 by itself three times gives 125.
125 的立方根是 5，因為 5 自乘三次等於 125。
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 6 (EQUATION SOLUTION). Sense 7 is specifically about roots of numbers (e.g. square root, cube root), while sense 6 is about roots of equations. In math notation, a square root is shown with the √ symbol.
8. the pitch at the bottom of a chord, which determines the chord's name and its ov
根音
和弦中最低的基礎音
the pitch at the bottom of a chord, which determines the chord's name and its overall harmonic quality.
In a C major chord, the note C is the root of the chord.
在 C 大三和弦中，C 音是和弦的根音。
root of the chord
Rania learned to identify the root note by listening to the lowest pitch in a chord.
Rania 學會了透過聽每個和弦中最低的音來辨識根音。
root note
Ezra played the C major chord on his guitar, then moved the root to E and heard a different chord.
Ezra 在吉他上彈了 C 大三和弦，然後把根音移到 E，聽到了一個不同的和弦。
In a G major chord, the note G serves as the root and the chord is built up from there.
在 G 大三和弦中，G 音是根音，和弦由此往上建構。
- tonic
often confused; tonic is the first note of a scale, while root is the base of a chord
- fundamental
in acoustics, the lowest frequency of a sound; related but not identical
用法筆記
Used mainly in music theory. In a chord, the other notes (third, fifth, seventh) are described in relation to the root.
root — 動詞
1. to search for something by moving things around or turning them over, often in a
翻找；搜尋
翻動物品尋找東西
to search for something by moving things around or turning them over, often in a rough or careless way.
Noa rooted through the drawer looking for a pair of scissors.
Noa 翻遍了抽屜尋找一把剪刀。
root through + noun phrase
The pig was rooting around in the mud with its snout.
那隻豬用鼻子在泥巴裡四處拱。
root around
Lotte rooted in her backpack for the train ticket while the queue moved forward.
隊伍往前移動時，Lotte 在背包裡翻找火車票。
Lotte rooted around in the toolbox until she found the right screwdriver.
Lotte 在工具箱裡翻找，直到找到合適的螺絲起子。
文法句型
root + through/around + noun phrase
用法筆記
Almost always used with a particle like through, around, or in. The object being searched through is usually a messy container or area (drawer, bag, pile, soil).
常見錯誤
2. of a plant or cutting: to send out roots and start establishing itself in soil o
生根；長根
植物長出根來
of a plant or cutting: to send out roots and start establishing itself in soil or another growing material.
The rose cuttings took about three weeks to root in the potting mix.
玫瑰插枝在培養土裡大約花了三週才生根。
to root in [growing medium]
Eve placed the stem in water until it rooted, then planted it in a pot.
Eve 把莖放在水裡直到它長出根，然後種進花盆裡。
Mrs. Chen placed her jasmine cuttings in a jar of water on the windowsill, hoping they would root.
陳太太把茉莉花插枝放進窗台上的一個水罐裡，希望它們能生根。
The gardener showed us how to root lavender cuttings in small pots of sand.
園丁向我們示範如何讓薰衣草插枝在小沙盆裡生根。
用法筆記
This verb is often used in gardening contexts. The related phrasal verb 'take root' is more common in everyday speech for the same idea. The transitive form (root a cutting) is also used by gardeners.