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:
Two children were airlifted to a burn center after a tabletop fireplace used to roast marshmallows burned them and a relative.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
While popular variations use turkey, roast beef, pastrami and other deli meats, the original version on offer at the 99-year-old Town Hall Delicatessen is still made with ham and beef tongue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 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
All you need to do is whip up a simple sauce, maybe throw on some cheese, or roast a few veggies, and voilà!
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
We ordered the same thing pretty much every Friday—pot roast, Brussels sprouts, and mashed potatoes—and when it came, we ate every bite.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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
It says "UK roasts again... after 29,000 lightning strikes in single night", with the Met Office issuing "red warnings – from London to Swansea and Somerset to Birmingham – over danger to life".
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
I can take nostalgic things that people love, or don’t love, and bring them back up in a way that roasts them lightly,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026
At a communal table, Cheung hosts tea ceremonies and workshops around a stock of exclusive roasts you can buy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 27, 2025
The city rulers encouraged and rewarded the workforce during construction and maintenance of the mound by staging celebratory roasts of fish and achira root right on the worksite.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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
On the other goes a coarse, olive-bar-inspired romesco made with jarred roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, salted roasted almonds and smoked paprika.
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
While working on the Venezuela rescue mission, Short and the other team members were recently firing up a smoker for burgers and roasted potatoes in the kitchen a floor below their conference room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
But as Roz scanned the table, her eyes kept returning to the roasted chicken.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
Their itinerary included roasting marshmallows, competing in potato-sack races and building human pyramids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Another reason to own energy stocks may be to help compensate you for global roasting.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
The powder clings beautifully to potatoes before roasting, the dried dairy helping to encourage browning while the herbs perfume every bite.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
"After a little research, I realised that nobody else is roasting coffee like this in Shetland," she said.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
The strong odor of roasting coffee over-whelmed all others.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
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.
