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• roach
  roach

  noun

  a cockroach.
• Roach
  Roach

  noun

  Maxwell Max, 1924–2007, U.S. jazz drummer and bandleader.

roach

¹ American  

[rohch] / roʊtʃ /

noun

1. a cockroach.

2. Slang. the butt of a marijuana cigarette.

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roach ² American  

[rohch] / roʊtʃ /

noun

• roaches,
  plural
• roach
  plural

1. a European freshwater fish, Rutilus rutilus, of the carp family.

2. any of various similar fishes, as the golden shiner.

3. a freshwater sunfish of the genus Lepomis, found in eastern North America.

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roach ³ American  

[rohch] / roʊtʃ /

noun

1. Nautical.

   1. the upward curve at the foot of a square sail.

   2. (loosely) a convexity given to any of the edges of a sail; round.

2. hair combed up from the forehead or temples in a roll or high curve.

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verb (used with object)

1. to clip or cut off (the mane of a horse); hog.

2. to comb (hair) into a roach.

Roach ⁴ American  

[rohch] / roʊtʃ /

noun

1. Maxwell Max, 1924–2007, U.S. jazz drummer and bandleader.

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roach ¹ British  

/ rəʊtʃ /

noun

1. a European freshwater cyprinid food fish, Rutilus rutilus , having a deep compressed body and reddish ventral and tail fins

2. any of various similar fishes

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roach ² British  

/ rəʊtʃ /

noun

1. short for cockroach

2. slang the butt of a cannabis cigarette

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roach ³ British  

/ rəʊtʃ /

noun

1. the amount by which the leech of a fore-and-aft sail projects beyond an imaginary straight line between the clew and the head

2. the curve at the foot of a square sail

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Roach ⁴ British  

/ rəʊtʃ /

noun

1. Hal , full name Harald Eugene Roach . 1892–1992, US film producer, whose company produced numerous comedy films in the 1920s and 1930s, including those featuring Harold Lloyd and Laurel and Hardy

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• roach
  plural
• roaches
  plural

Etymology

Origin of roach¹

An Americanism dating to 1830–40 roach ¹ for def. 1 and 1940–45 roach ¹ for def. 2; shortening of cockroach

Origin of roach²

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English roch(e), from Old French roch(e); further origin uncertain

Origin of roach³

First recorded in 1785–95; origin uncertain; posssibly a development of roach ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

roach Roach roaches

Lucy Galvin, the city council leader, said she and other residents had noticed dead pike, carp, roach, eel, rudd and dace.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

Despite the roach infestation, JPMorgan dived into External link private credit, along with the rest of Wall Street, with Dimon reckoning his bank could handle the risk.

From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was quarantined in an apartment building with a roach infestation.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 11, 2025

The typical alternative fund is “a roach motel,” says Auwaerter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025

The roach, if he could read it right, acted impressed.

From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins

Zendaya recently wore an enormous white winged creation from the label to the premiere of “The Odyssey,” styled by longtime collaborator Law Roach.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

Today at the bottom of the list in all caps sits the name of Jay Roach, the movie director whom Hoffs met on a blind date in 1991.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Erin Roach, who opposes the project and is the neighborhood association’s president, said that her side does have “an image problem.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

The powers that be were receptive and so Roach enlisted Happi to run the studio as a producer and sound engineer.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Out there in the cool hall, afraid even to wiggle my foot lest they hear me, I wondered if I could ever accept Lightfoot McLendon marrying Hosie Roach.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

It is easy enough to love dogs, cats and bunny rabbits, but what about roaches, wasps, snakes, vultures, rats and other largely unloved critters?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

Inmates are housed in unsafe, dirty facilities infested with roaches and rats, Bonta said in a news conference Monday, and lack basic access to clean water and edible food.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2025

In transit, bedsheets, scraps of paper, even Bibles are lit on fire and used to burn out roaches crawling through cracks and hiding in the crevices.

From Slate ● May 19, 2025

In an emotional reunion with his brother in Paita, near the Ecuadorian border, on Friday, he described how he had eaten roaches and birds before resorting to sea turtles.

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025

We have roaches, but because Amá mopped every single day, it didn’t feel that disgusting.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez

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