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rota

1 American  
[roh-tuh] / ˈroʊ tə /

noun

  1. Chiefly British.

    1. a round or rotation of duties; a period of work or duty taken in rotation with others.

    2. an agenda or circuit of sporting events, as a round of golf tournaments, played in different localities throughout the year.

  2. a roster.

  3. Official Name Sacra Romana Rota or Sacred Roman Rota.  (initial capital letter) the ecclesiastical tribunal in Rome, constituting the court of final appeal.

rota 2 American  
[roh-tuh] / ˈroʊ tə /

noun

  1. rote.

Rota 3 American  
[raw-tah] / ˈrɔ tɑ /

noun

  1. Nino 1911–1979, Italian composer.

Rota 1 British  
/ ˈrəʊtə /

noun

  1. RC Church the supreme ecclesiastical tribunal for judging cases brought before the Holy See

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
rota 2 British  
/ ˈrəʊtə /

noun

  1. a register of names showing the order in which people take their turn to perform certain duties

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of rota

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin: “wheel”

Explanation

A rota is a schedule that lists who will do a particular job and when they will do it. If you can't remember what day you're supposed to volunteer at the library, you should check the rota. You can also call a rota a roster. Win a spot on the soccer team or chess club, and you'll find your name on a rota: these are lists of team members, or schedules of upcoming competitions. At work, a rota tells you what shifts you'll be responsible for working next week. And at home, your parents' cleaning rota may assign tasks to each member of the family — just be glad it's not your turn to scour the bathroom.

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Vocabulary lists containing rota

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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.

The NHS Confederation and NHS Providers say that the doctors' strike in England in July led to £300m of costs for NHS trusts, including covering rota gaps.

From BBC • Oct. 26, 2025

Last month BBC Scotland News revealed that a whistleblowing investigation had found mothers and newborn babies came to harm because of rota shortages and a "toxic" culture at the ERI's obstetrics triage and assessment unit.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2025

“I don’t think it should be a rota, I think this should be the national championship every single year,” said Klatt, the former Colorado quarterback turned Fox college football analyst.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2025

Why not look at this sun-splashed sanctuary the way the British Open has St. Andrews in the rotation — or rota — of courses?

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2025

She also kept doing little favours for me, like making me sandwiches, or taking on parts of my cleaning rota.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

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.