roast
Americanverb (used with object)
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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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to roast meat or other food.
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to undergo the process of becoming roasted.
noun
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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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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.
At least 150 million people in Europe will roast in temperatures of 35C and above on Friday, according to an AFP analysis.
From Barron's • Jun. 26, 2026
The initial collection includes light, medium and dark roast blends personally curated by Parton alongside the Saurage family, which has owned and operated Community Coffee for six generations.
From Salon • Jun. 15, 2026
From time to time, waiters pushing trolleys roll past carrying sides of roast beef, to be carved at diners’ tables.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
They are then cleaned and roasted in the same pot and to ensure the roast is as even as possible, the beans must be constantly shaken as they heat.
From BBC • May 31, 2026
No one offered them any cheese or roast pork, but they soon found that the rumor Salvador had heard was correct.
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
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.
