Meaning
The fundamental cause, essential issue or deepest part of a problem. Often overlaps with heart of the matter, though root more strongly suggests an underlying cause. Regional use: Early modern English Bible tradition; now international English.
Origin
Job 19:28 in the 1611 King James Bible contains 'the root of the matter'. Root had long served figuratively for an underlying cause or source, and the verse gave that metaphor a memorable fixed form. Modern speakers usually mean the core issue, without invoking Job's disputed responsibility for his suffering.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- At the root of the matter
- Get to the root of the matter
- Root of the matter
Usage Examples
- The audit finally reached the root of the matter: nobody owned the approval step.
- At the root of the matter was a disagreement about who counted as a resident.
- We will not solve the delays until we get to the root of the matter.