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• roach
  roach

  noun

  a cockroach.
• Roach
  Roach

  noun

  Maxwell Max, 1924–2007, U.S. jazz drummer and bandleader.

roach

¹ American  

[rohch] / roʊtʃ /

noun

1. a cockroach.

2. Slang. the butt of a marijuana cigarette.

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roach ² American  

[rohch] / roʊtʃ /

noun

roaches plural

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.

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roach ³ American  

[rohch] / roʊtʃ /

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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to clip or cut off (the mane of a horse); hog.

2. to comb (hair) into a roach.

Roach ⁴ American  

[rohch] / roʊtʃ /

noun

1. Maxwell Max, 1924–2007, U.S. jazz drummer and bandleader.

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roach ¹ British  

/ rəʊtʃ /

noun

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

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roach ² British  

/ rəʊtʃ /

noun

1. short for cockroach

2. slang the butt of a cannabis cigarette

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roach ³ British  

/ rəʊtʃ /

noun

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

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Roach ⁴ British  

/ rəʊtʃ /

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

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• roach
  plural
• roaches
  plural

Etymology

Origin of roach¹

An Americanism dating to 1830–40 roach ¹ for def. 1 and 1940–45 roach ¹ for def. 2; shortening of cockroach

Origin of roach²

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English roch(e), from Old French roch(e); further origin uncertain

Origin of roach³

First recorded in 1785–95; origin uncertain; posssibly a development of roach ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

ROACH: No, I have no problem at all.

From Seattle Times • May 6, 2024

ROACH: Someone had to tell me that I was a disrupter.

From Seattle Times • May 6, 2024

ROACH: Once you've seen my fresh moves, you gonna cry like a baby, babes.

From The Guardian • Oct. 12, 2010

ROACH: Oh my days, it's an unprecedented synthesis of street dance and ballet!

From The Guardian • Oct. 12, 2010

Related Words

• bhang
• cannabis
• dope
• hashish
• hemp
• herb
• tea