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definitions

roach

1
[rohch]
See more synonyms for roach on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a cockroach.
  2. Slang. the butt of a marijuana cigarette.

Origin of roach

1
1830–40, Americanism; 1940–45, Americanism for def 2; short form of cockroach

roach

2
[rohch]
noun, plural roach·es, (especially collectively) roach.
  1. a European freshwater fish, Rutilus rutilus, of the carp family.
  2. any of various similar fishes, as the golden shiner.
  3. a freshwater sunfish of the genus Lepomis, found in eastern North America.

Origin of roach

2
1275–1325; Middle English roche < Old French < ?

roach

3
[rohch]
noun
  1. Nautical.
    1. the upward curve at the foot of a square sail.
    2. (loosely) a convexity given to any of the edges of a sail; round.
  2. hair combed up from the forehead or temples in a roll or high curve.
verb (used with object)
  1. to clip or cut off (the mane of a horse); hog.
  2. to comb (hair) into a roach.

Origin of roach

3
First recorded in 1785–95; origin uncertain

Roach

[rohch]
noun
  1. MaxwellMax, 1924–2007, U.S. jazz drummer and bandleader.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for roach

dope, cannabis, hashish, tea, hemp, herb, bhang, hash, joint, reefer, weed, ganja, roach, doobie, sinsemilla

Examples from the Web for roach

Contemporary Examples of roach

Historical Examples of roach

  • Not a bit of it, Roach; Mark says the fellow mistook you for Cassidy.

    The O'Donoghue

    Charles James Lever

  • Come, come, Roach, don't be angry; it's all past and over now; the fellow did it for the best.

    The O'Donoghue

    Charles James Lever

  • Structurally, said Dr. Boreas of Leamington, structurally you are as sound as a roach.

  • A roach snapped idly at him as he floundered past the shoal.

  • Besides she had got it into her head that Leonora, who was as sound as a roach, was consumptive.

    The Good Soldier

    Ford Madox Ford

British Dictionary definitions for roach

roach

1
noun plural roaches or roach
  1. a European freshwater cyprinid food fish, Rutilus rutilus, having a deep compressed body and reddish ventral and tail fins
  2. any of various similar fishes

Word Origin for roach

C14: from Old French roche, of obscure origin

roach

2
noun
  1. short for cockroach
  2. slang the butt of a cannabis cigarette

roach

3
noun nautical
  1. the amount by which the leech of a fore-and-aft sail projects beyond an imaginary straight line between the clew and the head
  2. the curve at the foot of a square sail

Word Origin for roach

C18: of unknown origin

Roach

noun
  1. Hal, full name Harald Eugene Roach . 1892–1992, US film producer, whose company produced numerous comedy films in the 1920s and 1930s, including those featuring Harold Lloyd and Laurel and Hardy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for roach
n.1

shortened form of cockroach, 1837, on mistaken notion that it was a compound. In contemporary writing said to be from a polite desire to avoid the sexual connotation in the first syllable. Meaning "butt of a marijuana cigarette" is first recorded 1938, perhaps from resemblance to the insect, but perhaps a different word entirely.

n.2

small freshwater fish, c.1200, from Old French roche (13c.), of uncertain origin, perhaps from a Germanic source. Applied to similar-looking fish in North America.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper