roost

[roost]

noun

1. a perch upon which birds or fowls rest at night.

2. a large cage, house, or place for fowls or birds to roost in.

3. a place for sitting, resting, or lodging.

verb (used without object)

1. to sit or rest on a roost, perch, etc.

2. to settle or stay, especially for the night.

roost

¹

/ ruːst /

noun

1. a place, perch, branch, etc, where birds, esp domestic fowl, rest or sleep

2. a temporary place to rest or stay

3. See rule

verb

1. (intr) to rest or sleep on a roost

2. (intr) to settle down or stay

3. to have unfavourable repercussions

Roost

²

/ ruːst /

noun

1. a powerful current caused by conflicting tides around the Shetland and Orkney Islands

Other Word Forms

• unroosted adjective
• unroosting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of roost¹

before 1100; Middle English roost (noun), Old English hrōst; cognate with Middle Dutch roest

Word History and Origins

Origin of roost¹

Old English hrōst ; related to Old Saxon hrost loft, German Rost grid

Origin of roost²

C16: from Old Norse röst

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. rule the roost, to be in charge or control; dominate.

   It was only too apparent that his grandfather ruled the roost.

2. come home to roost, (of an action) to revert or react unfavorably to the doer; boomerang.

   an evil deed that came home to roost and ruined his life.

see chickens come home to roost; rule the roost.

Example Sentences

The birds perched in the trees were not vultures but gentle cooing doves, with a few comically roosting chickens mixed among them.

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But rows of fat hens roosted contentedly in their roosting boxes, with their red-combed heads nestled into their plump bodies.

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Some of that was all the offensive line woes coming home to roost.

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When Hussein was deposed in Iraq, the military officers, Ba’ath Party loyalists and regime-tied sycophants who ruled the roost for nearly a quarter-century were forced to make do with an entirely new situation.

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Over the years, researchers experimented with roost cameras, military radar, hot-air balloons with ultrasound recorders, and GPS trackers -- struggling to create tools light enough for the bats to carry.

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