get to the root of the problem

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

to investigate and address the underlying cause of a problem rather than treating only its surface manifestations or symptoms — to engage with what fundamentally gives rise to a difficulty rather than dealing repeatedly with the consequences while the cause remains in place; the metaphor draws on the botanical image of a plant whose leaves and stems can be cut back repeatedly without eliminating it as long as the root remains intact and viable; in medicine the phrase describes the diagnostic ambition to identify the pathological cause of a patient's symptoms rather than merely managing them; in social policy it describes the aspiration to address structural causes of disadvantage rather than providing palliative services that relieve suffering without changing the conditions that produce it