Root or route?
root is a noun meaning “The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant…”; route is a noun meaning “A course or way which is traveled or passed”. They sound the same (/ɹuːt/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) route is about 1.8 times as common as root.
What is the difference between root and route?
| root | route | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to… A root vegetable To grow roots; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow | A course or way which is traveled or passed A regular itinerary of stops, or the path followed between these stops, such as for delivery or passenger transportation To direct or divert along a particular course |
| Example | This tree's roots can go as deep as twenty metres underground | The route was used so much that it formed a rut |
| Forms | roots | routes |
| Pronunciation | /ɹuːt/ /ɹʉwt/ /ɹut/ | /ɹuːt/ /ɹʉwt/ /ɹʉːt/ |
| In writing | 26 times per million words | 47 times per million words |
Sources: root and route in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of root and route
root
- 1
The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction
This tree's roots can go as deep as twenty metres underground
- 2
To grow roots; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow
The cuttings are starting to root
- 3
To turn up or dig with the snout
A pig roots the earth for truffles
- 4
An act of rummaging or searching
- 5
USTo cheer (on); to show support (for) and hope for the success of. (See root for.)
I'm rooting for you, don't let me down!
- 6
A root vegetable
- 7
To prepare, oversee, or otherwise cause the rooting of cuttings
We rooted some cuttings last summer
- 8
To seek favour or advancement by low arts or grovelling servility; to fawn
route
- 1
A course or way which is traveled or passed
The route was used so much that it formed a rut
- 2
To direct or divert along a particular course
All incoming mail was routed through a single office
- 3
Eye dialect spelling of root
- 4
A regular itinerary of stops, or the path followed between these stops, such as for delivery or passenger transportation
We live near the bus route
- 5
to connect two local area networks, thereby forming an internet
- 6
A road or path; often specifically a highway
Follow Route 49 out of town
- 7
To send (information) through a router
- 8
One of multiple methods or approaches to doing something
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, root or route?
root appears 26 times per million words; route 47 times per million words.
root 26 times per million wordsroute 47 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search root vs route?
“root vs route” is searched about 20 times a month on Bing (Google reports it together with close variants, so it has no figure of its own) in the United States.
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.