roster

American  

[ros-ter] / ˈrɒs tər /

noun

• rosters
  plural

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rosters
  plural

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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

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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

See Examples For:

roster rosters

But the roster was deep enough for the Dodgers to absorb injuries in the regular season and still win 100 games.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Despite their roster of stars and their unprecedented payroll, they stood no chance against the younger, hungrier and more tenacious Brewers, who overwhelmed their wealthier opponent with a relentless energy the Dodgers couldn’t match.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Dalton Rushing, who started just five fewer games behind the plate than Smith this season, is injured and not on the roster.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

It was that Texas spent all offseason dedicated to building the perfect football machine around the perfect football prospect—a roster so refined they wouldn’t be in this kind of do-or-die situation to begin with.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

But thanks to Hall’s phenomenal success rate he had no trouble filling the roster for this, his eighth expedition to Everest.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

The remaining players on college rosters could still be allowed to transfer once or be drafted at any point after their season ends.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

It was also something the teams had to think about when they were whittling down their rosters to 53 players last week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

And when rosters expanded on Sept. 1, the Dodgers decided against bringing up an outfielder who could share playing time with Hernández, betting that he could end his slump.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

The league institutes certain “max” salaries —collectively bargained with the players’ union—ensuring that teams are on a roughly level playing field as they court players and build rosters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

As he approached high school, Craig had been sought after by some of Chicago’s top public school coaches looking to fill gaps in their rosters.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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Related Words

• agenda
• inventory
• record
• schedule
• table

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