tr.v. e·rad·i·cat·ed, e·rad·i·cat·ing, e·rad·i·cates 1. To tear up by the roots: "They loosened the soil and eradicated the weeds" (James Macauley). [Middle English eradicaten, from Latin ērādīcāre, ērādīcāt- : ē-, ex-, ex- + rādīx, rādīc-, root; see wrād- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] e·radi·ca·ble (-kə-bəl) adj. e·rad′i·cation n. e·radi·ca′tive adj. e·radi·ca′tor n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.