Standard Lemma guide

taproot

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ˈtæpˌɹuːt/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A long, tapering root, exhibited by many plant species (such as carrots and dandelions).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

something that provides an important central source for growth or development

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the taproot of his resentment
  • genius and insanity spring from the same taproot

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: source, seed, germ

3

noun

Meaning 3

(botany) main root of a plant growing straight downward from the stem

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: root

History

Etymology

From tap + root. The oldest use (by Philemon Holland) is spaced as tap root. In the 18th and 19th centuries the standard spelling was tap-root.

Across languages

Translations

33 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: جِذْر وَتَدِيّ (jiḏr watadiyy) — long tapering root
  • Arabic: جَذْر وَتَدِيّ (jaḏr watadiyy) — long tapering root
  • Bulgarian: отвесен корен (otvesen koren) — long tapering root
  • Czech: hlavní kořen — long tapering root
  • Czech: kůlový kořen — long tapering root
  • Danish: pælerod — long tapering root
  • Finnish: pääjuuri — long tapering root
  • French: racine pivotante — long tapering root
  • Galician: pivote — long tapering root
  • German: Pfahlwurzel — long tapering root
  • Hungarian: főgyökér — long tapering root
  • Ingrian: emäjuuri — long tapering root
  • Ingrian: pääjuuri — long tapering root
  • Italian: fittone — long tapering root
  • Latin: rādīx pālāris — long tapering root
  • Manx: bun-fraue — long tapering root
  • Māori: tāmore — long tapering root
  • Māori: more — long tapering root
  • Māori: kōmore — long tapering root
  • Māori: kōmoremore — long tapering root
  • Norwegian Bokmål: pælerot — long tapering root
  • Persian: ریشهی راست (riše-ye râst) — long tapering root
  • Polish: korzeń palowy — long tapering root
  • Russian: стержнево́й ко́рень (steržnevój kórenʹ) — long tapering root
  • Spanish: raíz pivotante — long tapering root
  • Swedish: pålrot — long tapering root
  • Tagalog: laliming ugat — long tapering root
  • Tagalog: punong-ugat — long tapering root
  • Tamil: ஆணிவேர் (āṇivēr) — long tapering root
  • Tamil: தாய்வேர் (tāyvēr) — long tapering root
  • Tamil: அடிவேர் (aṭivēr) — long tapering root
  • Tamil: முதல்வேர் (mutalvēr) — long tapering root
  • Thai: รากแก้ว (râak-gɛ̂ɛo) — long tapering root