roost
noun
a perch upon which birds or fowls rest at night.
roost
American
[roost]
/ rust /
noun
-
roosts
plural
-
a perch upon which birds or fowls rest at night.
-
a large cage, house, or place for fowls or birds to roost in.
-
a place for sitting, resting, or lodging.
verb (used without object)
-
roosts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
roosted,
past participle, past
-
roosting
present participle
-
to sit or rest on a roost, perch, etc.
-
to settle or stay, especially for the night.
idioms
-
rule the roost, to be in charge or control; dominate.
It was only too apparent that his grandfather ruled the roost.
-
come home to roost, (of an action) to revert or react unfavorably to the doer; boomerang.
an evil deed that came home to roost and ruined his life.
roost
1
British
/ ruːst /
noun
-
a place, perch, branch, etc, where birds, esp domestic fowl, rest or sleep
-
a temporary place to rest or stay
-
See rule
verb
-
(intr) to rest or sleep on a roost
-
(intr) to settle down or stay
-
to have unfavourable repercussions
Roost
2
British
/ ruːst /
noun
roost
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
roostsimple
-
roostssimple
-
have roostedperfect
-
has roostedperfect
-
am roostingprogressive
-
are roostingprogressive
-
is roostingprogressive
-
have been roostingperfect progressive
-
has been roostingperfect progressive
Past
-
roostedsimple
-
had roostedperfect
-
was roostingprogressive
-
were roostingprogressive
-
had been roostingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of roost
before 1100; Middle English roost (noun), Old English hrōst; cognate with Middle Dutch roest
Explanation
A roost is a place where birds or bats can sleep or rest safely. Backyard chickens need a comfortable, secure roost to stay warm and rested. You can use roost to mean the perch that birds stand on while resting, the structure that contains the perch, or even a random tree branch, in the case of a wild bird. As a verb, it means to sit or to rest: "The chickens began to roost for the evening." When someone says, "Chickens come home to roost," they mean that bad actions eventually have bad consequences. And if you "rule the roost," you're in charge.
Vocabulary lists containing roost
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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:
The bat will think, “Oh, look at this lovely cave that’s just been created .... let me just roost up in here,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
“Now all the chickens are coming to roost here at the end of the year,” said Melissa Wall of Aprio, an accounting and advisory firm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
The finding was later confirmed in follow-up surveys, marking the first confirmed roost of the species in South Yorkshire.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
And he has been patrolling the skies and the lawns since 2008, ruling the roost at the centuries old site.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
She descended from her roost, numb in her arms and legs from her entanglement in the rough limbs.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Only in 1989 and 2018 were there more "heatwave days" at this point in the year - with 26 and 34 days respectively, according to data from weather website Starlings Roost Weather, external.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2025
Just a few blocks from both the Ritz and Roost, The Marble Room is a steakhouse and raw bar housed in a stunning old bank.
From Salon ● Mar. 30, 2025
At Red Hen Roost, a 73-acre corn farm in New York that also sells through Handsome Brook, some hens are waiting at the barn doors first thing in the morning, owner Luke Nolt says.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 16, 2024
The $89.95 Roost is my favorite laptop stand.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
Griffin’s Roost had been his, eventually, if only for a few short years.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
In West Penwith, Mark said wildlife appeared to react to the changing light, with birds returning to their roosts as the eclipse took place.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
His team has closely monitored this elusive forest-dwelling species using "smart" roosts equipped with antennas to detect implanted microchips in the bats.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2025
How about a nocturnal animal like an owl or those nighttime migrants – will they start to rustle from their roosts before they realize it’s not night?
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2024
At dusk, hundreds of wild parrots, some in large flocks, some singly or in pairs, approach from all directions, squawking loudly and circling overhead before settling on a variety of roosts.
From National Geographic ● Dec. 13, 2023
We found the lake again just as the sun was setting and bats were screeching out of their hidden roosts.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
To test the method, the team examined hundreds of tiny fossil bones left behind by owls that once roosted inside the cave.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
Many of these were condors that had roosted in Arizona’s Vermilion Cliffs, the same place where captive-bred birds were first released in 1996.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 29, 2023
I pushed the issue, saying I was working on a novel about this relative, and would just enjoy seeing where he'd roosted all these years, but she was shaking her head no, no, no.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2021
On the blackened stump, they found traces of DNA left behind by bats that had apparently roosted in the tree.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 28, 2021
But rows of fat hens roosted contentedly in their roosting boxes, with their red-combed heads nestled into their plump bodies.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Chicken thighs are roosting in recipes from high-end wellness resorts for top spenders and in the grocery carts of average consumers who are increasingly steering toward poultry because of record-high beef prices in recent months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
A woman has been forced to sleep in her car after discovering hundreds of bats roosting in her home - and being told there is nothing she can do to remove them.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2025
Expect to see and hear more chickens roosting in the next four years.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2025
Madison’s annual Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza raised multiple alarms, as the detonations traumatized roosting birds and sent them fleeing, many into traffic, and damaged wetland duck habitats with toxic detritus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
There, on a brand above his head, a wonderful bird was roosting.
From "The Magician's Nephew" by C. S. Lewis
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