roster

[ros-ter]

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

roster

¹

/ 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

verb

1. (tr) to place on a roster

roster

²

/ ˈrɒstə /

noun

1. dialect,  a rascal

Word History and Origins

Origin of roster¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of roster¹

C18: from Dutch rooster grating or list (the lined paper looking like a grid)

Example Sentences

The agreement brings together two unusually powerful forces in Los Angeles film culture: a who’s-who roster of A-list directors and, in the American Cinematheque, one of the city’s most visible and ambitious programming institutions.

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But the mere possibility will make it one of the more intriguing early subplots of the winter, representing one potentially splashier option for the club to consider in pursuit of 2026 roster upgrades.

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The team’s central focus right now, of course, is on bolstering its roster and supplementing its star-studded core coming out of last week’s annual MLB general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas.

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Now opposing coaches need to compare submitted rosters to real rosters whenever they play the University of Shady Coaches.

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They have downplayed their few areas of potential roster “need,” touting their returning talent and internal depth instead.

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Related Words

• agenda 
• inventory 
• record 
• schedule 
• table 

When To Use

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.