roast
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bake (meat or other food) uncovered, especially in an oven.
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to cook (meat or other food) by direct exposure to dry heat, as on a spit.
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to brown, dry, or parch by exposure to heat, as coffee beans.
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to cook or heat by embedding in hot coals, embers, etc..
to roast chestnuts.
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to heat excessively.
The summer sun has been roasting the entire countryside.
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Metallurgy. to heat (ore or the like) in air in order to oxidize it.
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to warm at a hot fire.
She roasted her hands over the fire.
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Informal. to ridicule or criticize severely or mercilessly.
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to honor with or subject to a roast.
Friends roasted the star at a charity dinner.
verb (used without object)
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to roast meat or other food.
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to undergo the process of becoming roasted.
noun
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roasted meat or a piece of roasted meat, as a piece of beef or veal of a quantity and shape for slicing into more than one portion.
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a piece of meat for roasting.
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something that is roasted.
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the act or process of roasting.
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Informal. severe criticism.
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a facetious ceremonial tribute, usually concluding a banquet, in which the guest of honor is both praised and good-naturedly insulted in a succession of speeches by friends and acquaintances.
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an outdoor get-together, as a picnic or barbecue, at which food is roasted and eaten.
a weenie roast.
adjective
verb
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to cook (meat or other food) by dry heat, usually with added fat and esp in an oven
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to brown or dry (coffee, etc) by exposure to heat
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metallurgy to heat (an ore) in order to produce a concentrate that is easier to smelt
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to heat (oneself or something) to an extreme degree, as when sunbathing, sitting before the fire, etc
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(intr) to be excessively and uncomfortably hot
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informal to criticize severely
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overroastverb
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half-roastedadjective
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roastableadjective
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unroastedadjective
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well-roastedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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roastsimple
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roastssimple
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have roastedperfect
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has roastedperfect
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am roastingprogressive
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are roastingprogressive
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is roastingprogressive
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have been roastingperfect progressive
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has been roastingperfect progressive
Past
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roastedsimple
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had roastedperfect
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was roastingprogressive
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were roastingprogressive
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had been roastingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of roast
1250–1300; Middle English rosten (v.) < Old French rostir < Germanic; compare Dutch roosten, German rösten
Explanation
Roast a turkey by cooking it in the oven. Roast a friend by calling her a turkey on her birthday. To roast can mean to cook, or to poke fun of someone as a way of honoring them. In cooking, slow, dry heat is used to roast things. When a cook roasts a piece of meat, you can call the meat itself a roast too. Another way to use this word is to mean “to make fun of someone,” like a toast but meaner and funnier. Comedians are known to roast each other, telling one joke after another mocking the person they're celebrating. This comes from an eighteenth century use of roast to mean "an unmerciful bantering."
Vocabulary lists containing roast
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Roast for 12 to 15 minutes, until the berries have burst and turned jammy.
From Salon • May 25, 2026
As the show progressed, he recognized that “Queer Roast for the Straight Hosts” had become an opportunity for LGBTQ+ comedians to grow artistically and build their audience one roast at a time.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
Roast of Kevin Hart Kia Forum Los Angeles showed up to the Forum in Inglewood for the roast of Kevin Hart, the comedian we love to hate but also love to laugh with.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
Roast just until tender and lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes.
From Salon • Oct. 7, 2025
Roast chicken, chips, sweet corn and chicken soup, two parathas and vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
