variants
or less commonly rootball
plural root balls also rootballs
: the compact mass of roots and soil formed by a plant especially in a container
If there are large circling roots or you have a difficult time straightening the roots, the root ball should be thinned and the soil loosened before planting.—
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Carey BrothersExamples of root ball in a Sentence
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Plant the new sections in the prepared pots with dampened soil, placing them so the root ball piece is about 2 inches below the rim of the pot and pressing the soil around the root ball section to get rid of any air pockets.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 27 Dec. 2025
Fill in with additional potting mix, making sure the top of the lavender root ball is even with the surface of the potting mix, which should be about an inch below the rim of the planter.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Dec. 2025
Carpenter said some of the limbs branching out from the main trunk did cause some damage to the home’s roof, and that the tree’s root ball was completely pulled out of the ground — lifting the family’s front deck over a dozen feet in the air.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Dec. 2025
Previous reports of unwelcome agricultural pests intercepted amid imports at DTW include African bushmeat brought by travelers from Togo and Gabon, caper fruit fly larvae amid fresh flowers from Italy, and pavement ants amid the root balls of two trees from Lebanon.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
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Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 27 Dec. 2025
Fill in with additional potting mix, making sure the top of the lavender root ball is even with the surface of the potting mix, which should be about an inch below the rim of the planter.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Dec. 2025
Carpenter said some of the limbs branching out from the main trunk did cause some damage to the home’s roof, and that the tree’s root ball was completely pulled out of the ground — lifting the family’s front deck over a dozen feet in the air.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Dec. 2025
Previous reports of unwelcome agricultural pests intercepted amid imports at DTW include African bushmeat brought by travelers from Togo and Gabon, caper fruit fly larvae amid fresh flowers from Italy, and pavement ants amid the root balls of two trees from Lebanon.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for root ball
Cite this Entry
“Root ball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/root%20ball. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
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