If you as a Linux admin "What is root", you may very well get the response "root, god, what's the difference?" Essentially root is THE admin, but in a Linux environment it is important to remember that unlike in a Windows environment, you spend very little time in a "privileged" mode. Many Windows programs over the years have required that the user be a local admin in order to function properly and have caused huge security issues as a result. This has changed some over the years, but it can still be difficult to remove all of the programs asking for top level permissions.
A Linux user remains as a standard user nearly all the time, and only when necessary do they change their permissions to that of root or the superuser (su). sudo (literally- superuser do …) is the main way used to run one-off commands as root, or it is also possible to temporarily have a root-level bash prompt. UAC (User Account Control) is similar in theme to sudo, and like Windows Firewall can be a pain in the neck but it does do a lot of good. Both programs allow the user to engage higher-level permissions without having to log out of their current user session- a massive time saver.   _{Your Comment}