IXL | Use Greek and Latin roots as clues to the meanings of words

The root port means carry. What does the word support mean?

to measure the weight of something

to carry the weight of something

ref_doc_title.

Learn with an example

question

The root spec means look. What does the word spectacular mean?

difficult or impossible to break

amazing or exciting to look at

key idea

A root is a part of a word that has a certain meaning. Words that share the same root often have similar meanings that are related to the meaning of the root. For example:

The root phon means sound.

A xylophone is a musical instrument with wooden bars that are hit by small hammers.

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings.

A telephone is a machine that can carry the sound of someone's voice over a long distance.

All of these meanings relate to the concept of sound.

You can use your knowledge of roots to figure out the meaning of words you haven't seen before. For example:

The root cyclo means circle or wheel.

The root meter means measure.

A cyclometer is a device that measures how many times a wheel turns.

solution

The word spectacular contains the root spec, which means look.

So, the word spectacular means amazing or exciting to look at.

Looking for more? Try this:

$Confetti$

Excellent!

Now entering the Challenge Zone—are you ready?

Questions
answeredQuestions

Time
elapsedTime

hr	min	sec
00	00	06

SmartScore
out of 100
IXL's SmartScore is a dynamic measure of progress towards mastery, rather than a percentage grade. It tracks your skill level as you tackle progressively more difficult questions. Consistently answer questions correctly to reach excellence (90), or conquer the Challenge Zone to achieve mastery (100)! Learn more

Teacher tools

Work it out

Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

Z.1Sort words by shared Greek or Latin roots

FF.1Use Greek and Latin roots as clues to the meanings of words

Excellent! You got that right!

Jumping to level 1 of 1

Excellent!