extirpate

/ˌɛkstərˈpeɪt/

Other forms: extirpated; extirpating; extirpates

The verb extirpate originally meant "to weed out by the roots." Now you can use it more broadly to describe getting rid of something completely.

Use the verb extirpate when you mean to destroy completely or get rid of completely. If you came home from vacation with your luggage infested by bedbugs, you will need to call an exterminator to extirpate them. The dodo bird was extirpated due to hunting and the introduction of predators in their habitat.

Definitions of extirpate

1. verb

   destroy completely, as if down to the roots
   synonyms: eradicate, exterminate, root out, uproot

   type of:

   destroy, destruct

   do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of
2. verb

   pull up by or as if by the roots
   synonyms: deracinate, root out, uproot

   types:

   stub

   pull up (weeds) by their roots

   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
3. verb

   surgically remove (an organ)
   type of:

   remove, take, take away, withdraw

   remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract