Vocabulary Builder: Extirpate

Long Definition:

ex·tir·pate /??k st?r?pe?t, ?k?st?rpe?t/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[ek-ster-peyt, ik-stur-peyt ] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation

–verb (used with object), -pat·ed, -pat·ing.

1.	to remove or destroy totally; do away with; exterminate.

2.	to pull up by or as if by the roots; root up: to extirpate an unwanted hair.

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[Origin: 1530–40; < L ex(s)tirp?tus plucked up by the stem (ptp. of ex(s)tirp?re), equiv. to ex- ex-¹ + stirp- (s. of stirps) stem + -?tus -ate¹]

—Related forms

ex·tir·pa·tion, noun

ex·tir·pa·tive, adjective

ex·tir·pa·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Short Definition: Exterminate

Sentences:

• Our cat successfully extirpated our rodent infestation.
• Extirpate any thought of going home. You are here for the long haul.

Mnemonic:
Eggs > Stir > Bait > Exterminate: I went fishing and took a dozen eggs along with my can of worms to fish with. I carefully cracked the eggs and stirred them into the bait with a long wooden spoon thinking that the fish would like egg-covered worms. Unfortunately, all of my worms were exterminated by the raw eggs, and I had to throw them out. I gave them a nice burial beside the river and marked the spot with egg shells.