roster

American  

[ros-ter] / ˈrɒs tər /

noun

rosters plural

1. a list of persons or groups, as of military personnel or units with their turns or periods of duty.

   Synonyms:

   record, panel, slate, listing

2. any list, roll, or register.

   a roster of famous scientists; a roster of coming events.

   Synonyms:

   record, panel, slate, listing

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roster ¹ British  

/ ˈrɒstə /

noun

1. a list or register, esp one showing the order of people enrolled for duty

2. marketing the list of advertising agencies regularly used by a particular company

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verb

1. (tr) to place on a roster

roster ² British  

/ ˈrɒstə /

noun

1. dialect a rascal

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Usage

What does roster mean? A roster is a list or register of people or things. Roster is perhaps most commonly used to refer to the official list of players on a sports team, but it can refer to many other things, including lists of military personnel and lists of academic classes. Example: We have spots on our roster for 26 players.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rosters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of roster

1720–30; < Dutch rooster list, roster, literally, gridiron, in reference to the ruled paper used, equivalent to roost ( en ) to roast + -er -er ¹

Explanation

If you see your name on the roster of players for the new softball team, then congratulations! Better start practicing, because you’re on the list of players who made the team. The word roster originally meant a list of the names, duties, and schedule of members of the military. That meaning is still in use, but today, a roster is more likely to be a list of players on your favorite team, a list of artists whose artwork appears regularly in a certain gallery, or a list of participants, such as an airline that posts its roster of flight crew members for the red-eye to Phoenix.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

roster rosters

The merger would put a sprawling roster of assets under the control of a single company.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

The Lakers pivoted quickly after James announced he wouldn’t return, overhauling the roster to complement star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

James is still a hugely capable All-Star, but willing to play relatively cheap in order to join a competitive roster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

But since hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen bought the club in late 2020, he has made it his personal mission to change that by throwing obscene amounts of money at the roster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Perhaps because the senior roster included fifteen girls, Martha had chosen only six juniors that year: Lexie Priessman, Madison Desch, Bailie Key, Katelyn Ohashi, Amelia Hundley, and me.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

On social media, sports rosters, email and restaurant bookings, she was Hannah Leonard, sharing her surname with her mother.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Leave captain Tim Ream, 38, out of the equation and only Ivory Coast and Ecuador have younger rosters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

The Invesco fund also owns shares of Manchester United, the popular British soccer team that has several players on World Cup rosters.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

You can click on a game and see a basic box score, leaderboard, or the teams’ rosters.

From Slate ● Jun. 10, 2026

We sat down and got stat charts and rosters ready until the basketball teams came in and warmed up.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

Related Words

• agenda
• inventory
• record
• schedule
• table