# extirpate

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈɛkstəpeɪt/

## Definitions
1. To clear an area of roots and stumps.
2. To pull up by the roots; uproot.
3. To destroy completely; to annihilate.
4. To cause a population to go extinct in a particular region, but not across the entire range of the species or subspecies.
5. To surgically remove.

## Etymology
The verb is first attested in 1538, the adjective in 1541; borrowed from Latin exstirpātus perfect passive participle of exstirpō (“to uproot”), from ex- (“out of”) + stirps (“the lower part of the trunk of a tree, including the roots; the stem, stalk”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)). Doublet of extirp. Common participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/extirpate