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definitions

roar

[rawr, rohr]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR roar ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

to utter or express in a roar: to roar denials.
to bring, put, make, etc., by roaring: to roar oneself hoarse.

noun

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RELATED WORDS

explosion, uproar, thunder, cry, rumble, shout, barrage, boom, drum, clamor, blast, outcry, guffaw, hoot, scream, howl, crash, rebound, explode, holler

Origin of roar

before 900; Middle English roren (v.), Old English rārian; cognate with Old High German rēren to bellow
Related formsroar·er, nounout·roar, verb (used with object)un·der·roar·er, noun

Synonyms for roar

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR roar ON THESAURUS.COM
1. bawl, yell. 3. resound, boom, thunder, peal.

Synonym study

1. See cry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for roar

Contemporary Examples of roar

Historical Examples of roar

  • This was responded to by a roar of satisfaction from the crowd below.

  • The sound in her ear had grown to a roar, as of many mill-wheels.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

  • Not from the street, for all beside was still; even the roar of London was hushed!

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • Rain fell in torrents; the crashing thunder was like the roar of artillery.

    The Roof of France

    Matilda Betham-Edwards

  • I am sick in my soul of narrow apartments and wheels and the rush and roar of the city.

    Her Father's Daughter

    Gene Stratton-Porter

British Dictionary definitions for roar

roar

verb (mainly intr)

(of lions and other animals) to utter characteristic loud growling cries
(also tr) (of people) to utter (something) with a loud deep cry, as in anger or triumph
to laugh in a loud hearty unrestrained manner
(of horses) to breathe with laboured rasping soundsSee roaring (def. 6)
(of the wind, waves, etc) to blow or break loudly and violently, as during a storm
(of a fire) to burn fiercely with a roaring sound
(of a machine, gun, etc) to operate or move with a loud harsh noise
(tr) to bring (oneself) into a certain condition by roaringto roar oneself hoarse

noun

a loud deep cry, uttered by a person or crowd, esp in anger or triumph
a prolonged loud cry of certain animals, esp lions
any similar noise made by a fire, the wind, waves, artillery, an engine, etc
a loud unrestrained burst of laughter
See also roar up
Derived Formsroarer, noun

Word Origin for roar

Old English rārian; related to Old High German rērēn, Middle Dutch reren
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 roar
v.

Old English rarian "roar, wail, lament, bellow, cry," probably of imitative origin (cf. Middle Dutch reeren, German röhren "to roar;" Sanskrit ragati "barks;" Lithuanian reju "to scold;" Old Church Slavonic revo "I roar;" Latin raucus "hoarse"). Related: Roared; roaring.

n.

late 14c., from roar (v.) and Old English gerar.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper