roster
Americannoun
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a list or register, esp one showing the order of people enrolled for duty
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marketing the list of advertising agencies regularly used by a particular company
verb
noun
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Under second-year coach Dusty May, Michigan leaped in the transfer portal—and opened up the NIL checkbook—to assemble a roster worth roughly $10 million.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
The Sky said in a statement Monday that the “trade is designed to achieve roster balance and represents a great opportunity for all parties.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026
Now, May’s mid-major know-how is boosted by a power-conference payroll: Wolverines general manager Kyle Church puts the team’s total outlay for its roster at roughly $10 million.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
He saw it as a credible alternative to the established parties, one that had a wide organisational network across the country and many new faces in its political roster.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
He, Mandela, and Natnael could round up a new roster of players.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
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.
