Cheer for

ROOTON

Think of what sports fans might shout to encourage their team’s success.

"Cheer for" hints at a word that sounds like encouragement, but the answer is a playful twist. "Root on" is a common phrase meaning to cheer someone on, and when written as one word—ROOTON—it fits the clue. The wordplay relies on merging the two-word phrase into a single, less common spelling while keeping the same meaning.