roaring
Americannoun
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the act of a person, animal, or thing that roars.
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a loud, deep cry or sound or a series of such sounds.
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Veterinary Pathology. a disease of horses, caused by respiratory obstruction or vocal cord paralysis, and characterized by loud or rough breathing sounds.
adjective
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making or causing a roar, as an animal or thunder.
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brisk or highly successful, as trade.
He did a roaring business selling watches to tourists.
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characterized by noisy, disorderly behavior; boisterous; riotous.
roaring revelry.
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complete; utter; out-and-out.
a roaring idiot; a roaring success.
adverb
adjective
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informal very brisk and profitable (esp in the phrase a roaring trade )
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the period of the Australian goldrushes
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derogatory (intensifier)
a roaring communist
adverb
noun
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a loud prolonged cry
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a debilitating breathing defect of horses characterized by rasping sounds with each breath: caused by inflammation of the respiratory tract or obstruction of the larynx Compare whistling
Other Word Forms
- roaringly adverb
Etymology
Origin of roaring
before 1000; Middle English roryng (noun, adj.), Old English rarung (noun). See roar, -ing 1, -ing 2
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.
The verdict is still out on Operation Epic Fury, but it has been a roaring success for at least one party—energy investors.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Price, who won in Dublin last year, was dominant as he raced into the lead, but he missed chance after chance to kill off the game as the world champion came roaring back.
From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026
It’s the roaring opposite of lazy foul ball spring training.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
He remembers taking a panoramic look at the sold-out crowd roaring in the darkness before the leather-suited legend even took the stage.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026
Just as I was about to step onto their porch, two roaring little boys burst out of the door and ran past.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
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.
