- present participle of roar.
roaring
Americannoun
-
the act of a person, animal, or thing that roars.
-
a loud, deep cry or sound or a series of such sounds.
-
Veterinary Pathology. a disease of horses, caused by respiratory obstruction or vocal cord paralysis, and characterized by loud or rough breathing sounds.
adjective
-
making or causing a roar, as an animal or thunder.
-
brisk or highly successful, as trade.
He did a roaring business selling watches to tourists.
-
characterized by noisy, disorderly behavior; boisterous; riotous.
roaring revelry.
-
complete; utter; out-and-out.
a roaring idiot; a roaring success.
adverb
adjective
-
informal very brisk and profitable (esp in the phrase a roaring trade )
-
the period of the Australian goldrushes
-
derogatory (intensifier)
a roaring communist
adverb
noun
-
a loud prolonged cry
-
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
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.
Next to the damaged station, dozens of onlookers stared at the flames roaring from the vehicle amid shards of glass and rubble, AFP journalists observed.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
London’s priciest neighborhoods are showcases for ostentatious automobiles at all times of year, V12 engines roaring through streets where speed limits top out at 20 miles-per-hour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Shares of CrowdStrike are roaring after the company revealed a record-breaking quarter, partially boosted by fears about the power of artificial intelligence.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
With a bald eagle, fighter jets, Air Force One, the Beast and race cars roaring through the nation’s capital, Trump certainly didn’t send the celebration out quietly.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
It took him a long moment to realize that the roaring had stopped.
From "I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964" by Lauren Tarshis
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.
