rooster
Americannoun
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roosters
plural
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the male of domestic fowl and certain game birds; cock.
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a representation of this bird, used as an emblem of the Democratic Party from 1842 to 1874.
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Informal. a cocky person.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rooster
Explanation
A rooster is a male chicken. If your cute baby chick grows up to crow loudly first thing every morning, he's probably a rooster. The word rooster is an American invention, inspired by the rooster's habit of roosting, or standing up on a perch while sleeping or while on the lookout for danger. In the UK, a rooster is more likely to be called a cock or cockerel. In a flock of birds, the rooster's job is to defend the chickens and their nests from predators and other roosters.
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:
Serkis, who also provides the voice of Randolph the rooster, says the book made a big impression on him as a child.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Occasionally, experiments fail, like when the team tried piping in a less-than-convincing recording of a rooster over loud speakers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
The colorful space, dominated by a giant rooster mural and pulsing with salsa, draws inspiration from across Latin America and the Caribbean.
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2025
While he speaks to me from his home in Sierra Leone, a rooster crows in the background, punctuating his sentences like a barnyard hype man.
From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2025
It was too far away to tell what color its eyes were, but I could have sworn that they were as red as our old red rooster.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Nearby were soft-toy footballers resembling Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, fluffy roosters in France polos and teddy bears in Spain kits.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
The gate is adorned with a sculpted round medallion of Oseguera’s trademark, two roosters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
Six roosters were found in the cargo of the car and the driver, Jose Adame, was arrested on assault charges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2025
“Once those roosters and hens go down, you have no vaccine,” Bright said.
From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2024
The two cocks, or roosters, were circling each other.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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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.
