roster

American  

[ros-ter] / ˈrɒs tər /

noun

1. a list of persons or groups, as of military personnel or units with their turns or periods of duty.

   Synonyms:

   record, panel, slate, listing

2. any list, roll, or register.

   a roster of famous scientists; a roster of coming events.

   Synonyms:

   record, panel, slate, listing

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roster ¹ British  

/ ˈrɒstə /

noun

1. a list or register, esp one showing the order of people enrolled for duty

2. marketing the list of advertising agencies regularly used by a particular company

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verb

1. (tr) to place on a roster

roster ² British  

/ ˈrɒstə /

noun

1. dialect a rascal

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Usage

What does roster mean? A roster is a list or register of people or things.Roster is perhaps most commonly used to refer to the official list of players on a sports team, but it can refer to many other things, including lists of military personnel and lists of academic classes.Example: We have spots on our roster for 26 players.

Etymology

Origin of roster

1720–30; < Dutch rooster list, roster, literally, gridiron, in reference to the ruled paper used, equivalent to roost ( en ) to roast + -er -er ¹

Example Sentences

The roster the U.S. chose to bring to Italy was roundly criticized in the weeks leading up to the Olympics.

From The Wall Street Journal

With players on its roster from 17 NHL teams, chemistry was a work in progress for the U.S. men in the early going.

From Los Angeles Times

The U.S. arrived in Milan with virtually the same roster that lost to Canada last year.

From The Wall Street Journal

“We knew what to expect playing them and between the first and second quarters coach told us to work on our transition,” said Barragan, one of 14 underclassmen on the varsity roster.

From Los Angeles Times

The institution is not just losing talent; it is losing the credibility built over decades that no roster of podcasters can replace.

From Salon

Related Words

• agenda
• inventory
• record
• schedule
• table