roast
verb (used with object)
to bake (meat or other food) uncovered, especially in an oven.
were roasting
-
past progressiveof roast.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Officials said that several children outside in a patio area were roasting marshmallows on a device called Flikr Fire, a tabletop fireplace kit that uses rubbing alcohol for fuel and was recalled in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
And hominins were roasting nuts, tubers, and seeds about 780,000 years ago.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 22, 2019
A group of men already gathered there were roasting lamb over an open fire.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 15, 2016
A layer of tiny fish were roasting on a screen held over the flame.
From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2015
It was getting dark and almost everybody was hanging around their barbecue pits where they’d built little fires and were roasting hot dogs or burgers or marshmallows.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
