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grassroots

GRASS-roots /ˈɡræs.ruːts/

nounadjectiveB2GRESATTOEFL

generalpolitical

Ordinary people in a community or society, as distinguished from its leadership or political elites.

Emphasizes bottom-up organic participation originating from common citizens rather than established leaders.

The story behind the word. Coined in early 20th-century American politics, the term likened political power springing directly from regular folks to plants growing naturally out of local soil, in contrast to political bosses sitting in smoke-filled rooms.

Word relationships

populist: Populist can have ideological or demagogic connotations, whereas grassroots specifically stresses local, bottom-up origins.

top-down: Top-down refers to initiatives directed entirely by central authority or leadership.

Commonly confused with

astroturfing: Astroturfing is fake grassroots support orchestrated secretly by corporate or political elites.

Word family

grassroot (adjective): Relating to or coming from fundamental local sources.

Collocations

grassroots campaign
grassroots movement
grassroots organization
grassroots support

Idioms & expressions

at the grassroots level

Example sentences

"The campaign succeeded because of a genuine grassroots campaign driven by thousands of local volunteers." Community organizing
"Senator La Follette praised the reforms as a triumph of grassroots democracy over party machine control." Political history

Memory hook

Think of grass roots deep in the soil—the ground level where everything actually grows. Power growing from the ground up.

When not to use

Do not use to describe top-down corporate initiatives or official government mandates.

Fun facts

The political term 'astroturfing' (fake grassroots) was named directly after AstroTurf synthetic grass.