roast

American  

[rohst] / roʊst /

verb (used with object)

1. to bake (meat or other food) uncovered, especially in an oven.

2. to cook (meat or other food) by direct exposure to dry heat, as on a spit.

3. to brown, dry, or parch by exposure to heat, as coffee beans.

4. to cook or heat by embedding in hot coals, embers, etc..

   to roast chestnuts.

5. to heat excessively.

   The summer sun has been roasting the entire countryside.

6. Metallurgy. to heat (ore or the like) in air in order to oxidize it.

7. to warm at a hot fire.

   She roasted her hands over the fire.

8. Informal. to ridicule or criticize severely or mercilessly.

9. to honor with or subject to a roast.

   Friends roasted the star at a charity dinner.

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verb (used without object)

1. to roast meat or other food.

2. to undergo the process of becoming roasted.

noun

1. 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.

2. a piece of meat for roasting.

3. something that is roasted.

4. the act or process of roasting.

5. Informal. severe criticism.

6. 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.

7. an outdoor get-together, as a picnic or barbecue, at which food is roasted and eaten.

   a weenie roast.

adjective

1. roasted.

   roast beef.

roast British  

/ rəʊst /

verb

1. to cook (meat or other food) by dry heat, usually with added fat and esp in an oven

2. to brown or dry (coffee, etc) by exposure to heat

3. metallurgy to heat (an ore) in order to produce a concentrate that is easier to smelt

4. to heat (oneself or something) to an extreme degree, as when sunbathing, sitting before the fire, etc

5. (intr) to be excessively and uncomfortably hot

6. informal to criticize severely

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noun

1. something that has been roasted, esp meat

Other Word Forms

• half-roasted
  adjective
• overroast
  verb
• roastable
  adjective
• underroast
  verb (used with object)
• unroasted
  adjective
• well-roasted
  adjective

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."

Example Sentences

Roast a pan of maple-glazed apples until they slump into themselves; toss some nuts and seeds with cinnamon and salt; maybe crisp a few strips of brown-sugar bacon until they’re practically candy.

From Salon • Nov. 13, 2025

Roast just until tender and lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes.

From Salon • Oct. 7, 2025

Nathan Lane recalls the Friars Club Roast from hell, Kate Hudson opens up about needing to fight for roles beyond the rom-com and more tales from The Envelope Comedy Roundtable.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2025

This year, that job falls to US comic Nikki Glaser - a terrific choice if her recent appearance on The Roast of Tom Brady is anything to go by.

From BBC • Dec. 8, 2024

Roast rabbit is marvelous under any conditions, but when you’re cold and hungry it is superb.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George