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

Explanation

If you see your name on the roster of players for the new softball team, then congratulations! Better start practicing, because you’re on the list of players who made the team. The word roster originally meant a list of the names, duties, and schedule of members of the military. That meaning is still in use, but today, a roster is more likely to be a list of players on your favorite team, a list of artists whose artwork appears regularly in a certain gallery, or a list of participants, such as an airline that posts its roster of flight crew members for the red-eye to Phoenix.

Example Sentences

But it’s the roster, and not the way in which it was released, that is of most importance here and among the striking omissions are midfielders Tanner Tessmann and Diego Luna.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026

And he has led winger Cole Caufield, Montreal’s shortest player at 5-foot-8, from the fringes of the roster to a breakout 2025-26 season.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

CBS and Colbert are keeping the guest roster a secret, with the network only teasing that it will run longer than the standard hour.

From Salon • May 21, 2026

If I have a seven-foot athlete, which I do have on my roster, and he’s, you know, he’s massive — he wears a 16-and-a-half shoe.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

He held out a roster for me to sign, and indicated how to draw an X. I took his quill, and wrote my name.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• agenda
• inventory
• record
• schedule
• table