root and branch
In its entirety; wholly. The company has changed root and branch since it was bought out by the media conglomerate. The new administration is aiming to overhaul the tax system root and branch.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
root and branch
Utterly, completely, as in The company has been transformed root and branch by the new management. Alluding to both the underground and aboveground parts of a tree, this idiom was first recorded in 1640.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
root and branch
COMMON If something is changed or reformed root and branch, it is changed or reformed completely, so that none of the old or traditional parts remain. These genuinely radical measures should change our economic system root and branch. Note: A root-and-branch reform, change or examination is a complete reform, change or examination. The Chief Inspector of Prisons called for root and branch reform of the prison system yesterday. The government has embarked on a root and branch review of the future of student finance. Note: In 1641 the Root and Branch Bill abolishing the government of the church by bishops was presented to the English Parliament. Those who supported the bill were known as `root-and-branch men', and the term has been used to refer to reform ever since.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
root and branch
used to express the thorough or radical nature of a process or operation. 1999 Which? Last year, the government undertook a root and branch examination of the home-buying process in England and Wales.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
ˌroot and ˈbranch
completely; thoroughly: The independence movement has been destroyed root and branch.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
root and branch
Utterly; completely: The organization has been transformed root and branch by its new leaders.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.