roast
Americanverb (used with object)
-
roasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
roasted,
past participle, past
-
roasting
present participle
-
to bake (meat or other food) uncovered, especially in an oven.
-
to cook (meat or other food) by direct exposure to dry heat, as on a spit.
-
to brown, dry, or parch by exposure to heat, as coffee beans.
-
to cook or heat by embedding in hot coals, embers, etc..
to roast chestnuts.
-
to heat excessively.
The summer sun has been roasting the entire countryside.
-
Metallurgy. to heat (ore or the like) in air in order to oxidize it.
-
to warm at a hot fire.
She roasted her hands over the fire.
-
Informal. to ridicule or criticize severely or mercilessly.
-
to honor with or subject to a roast.
Friends roasted the star at a charity dinner.
verb (used without object)
-
roasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
roasted,
past participle, past
-
roasting
present participle
-
to roast meat or other food.
-
to undergo the process of becoming roasted.
noun
-
roasts
plural
-
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.
-
a piece of meat for roasting.
-
something that is roasted.
-
the act or process of roasting.
-
Informal. severe criticism.
-
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.
-
an outdoor get-together, as a picnic or barbecue, at which food is roasted and eaten.
a weenie roast.
adjective
verb
-
to cook (meat or other food) by dry heat, usually with added fat and esp in an oven
-
to brown or dry (coffee, etc) by exposure to heat
-
metallurgy to heat (an ore) in order to produce a concentrate that is easier to smelt
-
to heat (oneself or something) to an extreme degree, as when sunbathing, sitting before the fire, etc
-
(intr) to be excessively and uncomfortably hot
-
informal to criticize severely
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
overroastverb
-
underroastverb (used with object)
-
half-roastedadjective
-
roastableadjective
-
unroastedadjective
-
well-roastedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
roastsimple
-
roastssimple
-
have roastedperfect
-
has roastedperfect
-
am roastingprogressive
-
are roastingprogressive
-
is roastingprogressive
-
have been roastingperfect progressive
-
has been roastingperfect progressive
Past
-
roastedsimple
-
had roastedperfect
-
was roastingprogressive
-
were roastingprogressive
-
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:
Then comes the sound, clams tossed in hot pans, cleavers pounding roast pork, a Cantonese rock ballad barely rising above the crowd.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
His roast of Donald Trump catapulted him to stardom, and he has released five hourlong comedy specials, the most recent of which, “Bones and All,” debuted in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
While popular variations use turkey, roast beef, pastrami and other deli meats, the original version on offer at the 99-year-old Town Hall Delicatessen is still made with ham and beef tongue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
It worked to pare down menus and offer dinner deals, and rolled out items like slow-braised pot roast and hash-brown casserole shepherd’s pie.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
"But even a mouse can't go creeping around on the table-top carrying a bottle and sprinkling Mouse-Maker all over the witches' roast beef without being spotted."
From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl
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
"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
The “expectant widow” line was a morbid, vaguely risqué gag, the kind of joke that has been standard fare at the Correspondents’ Dinner and roasts for decades.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
New featured cast member Culhane debuted on “Update” as Mr. On Blast, a roasting commentator with very light roasts and a lot of body language.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026
So day by day we lingered, feasting long on roasts and wine, until a year grew fat.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
I’d still love to invite her and Nolan and even Oates to a banquet of wine and roasted fowl and have a blast agreeing to disagree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
It carries enough bright acid to pair with grilled meats and creamy pasta sauces, enough earthiness to complement mushrooms and truffles and a savoriness that plays well with roasted veggies and herb-heavy dishes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
You wouldn’t expect a close race if you’ve only watched Stevens getting roasted on social media for her stage presence.
From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026
The latest heat wave follows similar events that roasted the central and eastern United States last week, and Europe before that.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
On the board she placed olives and radishes and several eggs which she had roasted in the ashes.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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
"After a little research, I realised that nobody else is roasting coffee like this in Shetland," she said.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
Mary was aware of the smell of roasting corn, and the warm smell of the mulefa themselves—part oil, part warm flesh, a sweet horselike smell.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.
