roast
Americanverb (used with object)
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roasts,
present (3rd person singular)
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roasted,
past participle, past
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roasting
present participle
-
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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roasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
roasted,
past participle, past
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roasting
present participle
-
to roast meat or other food.
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to undergo the process of becoming roasted.
noun
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roasts
plural
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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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underroastverb (used with object)
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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.
See Examples For:
They roast their own coffee beans and have an amazing pastry selection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
I think it’s a perfect blend of broth and roast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
As I creep through the heavy fog of Silent Hill: Townfall, I'm met by an oddly familiar sight amid the terror - a sign for a Sunday roast.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
“Everyone has their mom’s meatloaf or grandma’s roast chicken,” company chef Holly Faivre said, “but how can we make this fit all of the boxes for GLP-1s?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Its members come from all walks of life and get together every few weeks to take in a movie or enjoy a weenie roast.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Also called a cumulonimbus flammagenitus, they can occur during volcanic eruptions or, as in this case, when a wildfire roasts the air near the ground, causing it to rise quickly.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Netflix has also done live comedy specials, roasts and late-night talk with comedian John Mulaney.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
"My agent still roasts me about the fact that I used to go to castings dressed in jeans and NYU T-shirts that I'd got for free," she told British Vogue in February.
From BBC ● May 9, 2026
I can take nostalgic things that people love, or don’t love, and bring them back up in a way that roasts them lightly,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026
Inside, a goose roasts in the oven and the black-and-white dog, Monty, waits under the table for scraps.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
This is a current variation on roasted tomato soup I’ve been making a lot recently: warmly spiced with garam masala, fennel and coriander, rounded out with miso and coconut cream.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
For their main course they dined on a sesame-crusted sea bass, braised bok choy and roasted eggplant.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
The second course featured sesame-crusted sea bass with baby bok choy and roasted garden eggplant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
On today’s bait menu: a tin of Wild Planet sardines, a bag of tuna flakes and a clamshell container of roasted chicken wings Navratil picked up from 7-Eleven on the way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
I managed to shoot a dove and a rabbit—not much for five boys—and at noon we roasted them on a spit over the fire.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
But when I want depth, sweetness, browning and the kind of flavor that tastes like something has been cooking much longer than it actually has, I start by roasting.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
Last month, two girls in San Diego County were airlifted to a burn center after flames went in their direction while they were roasting marshmallows on a device called Flikr Fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Another reason to own energy stocks may be to help compensate you for global roasting.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Much like the players, Berly Nelson felt like he was roasting in the sun at Lumen Field.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
“Would you like to buy some crawfish or minnows? Maybe you’d like some fresh vegetables or roasting ears.”
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
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.
