roast
Americanverb (used with object)
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roasts,
present (3rd person singular)
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roasted,
past participle, past
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roasting
present participle
-
to bake (meat or other food) uncovered, especially in an oven.
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to cook (meat or other food) by direct exposure to dry heat, as on a spit.
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to brown, dry, or parch by exposure to heat, as coffee beans.
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to cook or heat by embedding in hot coals, embers, etc..
to roast chestnuts.
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to heat excessively.
The summer sun has been roasting the entire countryside.
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Metallurgy. to heat (ore or the like) in air in order to oxidize it.
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to warm at a hot fire.
She roasted her hands over the fire.
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Informal. to ridicule or criticize severely or mercilessly.
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to honor with or subject to a roast.
Friends roasted the star at a charity dinner.
verb (used without object)
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roasts,
present (3rd person singular)
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roasted,
past participle, past
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roasting
present participle
-
to roast meat or other food.
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to undergo the process of becoming roasted.
noun
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roasts
plural
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roasted meat or a piece of roasted meat, as a piece of beef or veal of a quantity and shape for slicing into more than one portion.
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a piece of meat for roasting.
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something that is roasted.
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the act or process of roasting.
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Informal. severe criticism.
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a facetious ceremonial tribute, usually concluding a banquet, in which the guest of honor is both praised and good-naturedly insulted in a succession of speeches by friends and acquaintances.
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an outdoor get-together, as a picnic or barbecue, at which food is roasted and eaten.
a weenie roast.
adjective
verb
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to cook (meat or other food) by dry heat, usually with added fat and esp in an oven
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to brown or dry (coffee, etc) by exposure to heat
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metallurgy to heat (an ore) in order to produce a concentrate that is easier to smelt
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to heat (oneself or something) to an extreme degree, as when sunbathing, sitting before the fire, etc
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(intr) to be excessively and uncomfortably hot
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informal to criticize severely
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overroastverb
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underroastverb (used with object)
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half-roastedadjective
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roastableadjective
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unroastedadjective
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well-roastedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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roastsimple
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roastssimple
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have roastedperfect
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has roastedperfect
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am roastingprogressive
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are roastingprogressive
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is roastingprogressive
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have been roastingperfect progressive
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has been roastingperfect progressive
Past
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roastedsimple
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had roastedperfect
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was roastingprogressive
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were roastingprogressive
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had been roastingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of roast
1250–1300; Middle English rosten (v.) < Old French rostir < Germanic; compare Dutch roosten, German rösten
Explanation
Roast a turkey by cooking it in the oven. Roast a friend by calling her a turkey on her birthday. To roast can mean to cook, or to poke fun of someone as a way of honoring them. In cooking, slow, dry heat is used to roast things. When a cook roasts a piece of meat, you can call the meat itself a roast too. Another way to use this word is to mean “to make fun of someone,” like a toast but meaner and funnier. Comedians are known to roast each other, telling one joke after another mocking the person they're celebrating. This comes from an eighteenth century use of roast to mean "an unmerciful bantering."
Vocabulary lists containing roast
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:
His roast of Donald Trump catapulted him to stardom, and he has released five hourlong comedy specials, the most recent of which, “Bones and All,” debuted in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
I considered prosciutto, roast beef, cured meats and even a pickle-heavy chickpea salad.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
It worked to pare down menus and offer dinner deals, and rolled out items like slow-braised pot roast and hash-brown casserole shepherd’s pie.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
"Perhaps it is similar to the time when the lead human at a formal meal would carve up the roast," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Nhamo dug around the deserted gardens until she had found several sweet potatoes to roast.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Also called a cumulonimbus flammagenitus, they can occur during volcanic eruptions or, as in this case, when a wildfire roasts the air near the ground, causing it to rise quickly.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Some controversial jokes by lesser, edgy comedians fell flat but Jeff Ross, the master of roasts, held the tempo together and kept the roast moving forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
"My agent still roasts me about the fact that I used to go to castings dressed in jeans and NYU T-shirts that I'd got for free," she told British Vogue in February.
From BBC ● May 9, 2026
One portion roasts down into a dense, jewel-toned ribbon to layer between the yogurt.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2026
Their Frigidaire was always stocked with newly acquired pieces of ham, half roasts and quartered chickens.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
I’d still love to invite her and Nolan and even Oates to a banquet of wine and roasted fowl and have a blast agreeing to disagree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
It carries enough bright acid to pair with grilled meats and creamy pasta sauces, enough earthiness to complement mushrooms and truffles and a savoriness that plays well with roasted veggies and herb-heavy dishes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Marcona almonds are lovely if you want an amusing high-low dialogue with the potato chips that appear later, though any salted roasted almond will do.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
You wouldn’t expect a close race if you’ve only watched Stevens getting roasted on social media for her stage presence.
From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026
I dined on what they called “robber steak”—bits of bacon, onion, and beef, seasoned with red pepper, and strung on sticks and roasted over the fire, in the simple style of the London cat’s meat!
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Turning on the oven quite literally changes the climate of my entire workplace — but roasting summer fruit is one of the few things that makes the sacrifice worthwhile.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
Another reason to own energy stocks may be to help compensate you for global roasting.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Officials said that several children outside in a patio area were roasting marshmallows on a device called Flikr Fire, a tabletop fireplace kit that uses rubbing alcohol for fuel and was recalled in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Much like the players, Berly Nelson felt like he was roasting in the sun at Lumen Field.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
It was getting dark and almost everybody was hanging around their barbecue pits where they’d built little fires and were roasting hot dogs or burgers or marshmallows.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
