roost

American  

[roost] / rust /

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.

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verb (used without object)

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

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

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.

roost ¹ British  

/ 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

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verb

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

2. (intr) to settle down or stay

3. to have unfavourable repercussions

Roost ² British  

/ ruːst /

noun

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

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roost More Idioms  

1. see chickens come home to roost; rule the roost.

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Other Word Forms

• unroosted adjective
• unroosting adjective

Etymology

Origin of roost

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

Example Sentences

The turkeys would roost at night in trees before being encouraged down in the morning with food and then walking on again.

From BBC

But all along it, aging chickens are coming home to roost.

From The Wall Street Journal

The falconer says the hawk is trained not to attack pigeons or gulls but will instead scare them into roosting and nesting elsewhere.

From BBC

“This is all coming to roost in the form of higher-for-longer metal prices,” he said.

From MarketWatch

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

From Literature