- present participle of roar.
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
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.
Bar manager Paul Ansell loved seeing all the fantastic costumes throughout the Halloween festival and said his bar had done a roaring trade across the four days, serving drinks to crowds of revellers.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
Strong consumer demand is also propping up corporate profits, especially from high-end spenders getting a boost from roaring stocks markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Liberal democracy was a roaring economic success for most of the 20th century, at least in broad strokes and with some well-known caveats.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
His teenage daughter joined the crew, holding on for dear life as the roaring watercraft stood up on its tail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Finally someone opened the door, and the last they saw of the cat it was roaring down the street, all tangled up in a tablecloth.
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
