roar

1 of 2

verb

roared; roaring; roars

intransitive verb

1
a
: to utter or emit a full loud prolonged sound
b
: to sing or shout with full force
2
a
: to make or emit a loud confused sound (such as background reverberation or rumbling)
b
: to laugh loudly
3
a
: to be boisterous or disorderly
b
: to proceed or rush with great noise or commotion
4
: to make a loud noise during inhalation (such as that of a horse affected with roaring)

transitive verb

1
: to utter or proclaim with a roar
2
: to cause to roar

roar

2 of 2

noun

1
: the deep cry of a wild animal (such as a lion)
2
: a loud deep cry (as of pain or anger)
3
: a loud continuous confused sound
the roar of the crowd
4
: a boisterous outcry

Examples of roar in a Sentence

Verb We heard a lion roar in the distance. The joke got the crowd roaring. The crowd roared its approval. She roared at him for being late. Noun the roar of the airplane engines the roar of the river
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
But there’s one surprising area where Europe has been holding its own against the roaring U.S.—the stock market. Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 3 Mar. 2024 Winds on both sides of that front — which exceeded 50 mph at times — sent flames roaring through dormant grasses, Nielsen-Gammon said. Evan Bush, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024 With his wry smirk and dry wit, Oliver on Sunday may have brought these calls roaring back to life merely by choosing to zero in on Thomas. Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2024 Like Japan in the 1960s-1980s, for most of this century, Germany roared ahead, dominating global markets for high-end products like luxury cars and industrial machinery, selling so much to the rest of the world that half its economy ran on exports. Yuri Kageyama, Quartz, 15 Feb. 2024 Over an hour and a half, Rodrigo alternately roared and pleaded, stomped and collapsed. Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024 The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark borrowing rate 11 times beginning in March of 2022 in an effort to bring down the four-decade high inflation that took hold after the economy roared back from the COVID-19 recession of 2020. Matt Ott, Quartz, 22 Feb. 2024 And dozens of trains roar through town each day, mere feet from pedestrians walking along Route 66. USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024 On Thursday afternoon, delivery trucks and cars zigzagged around unidentifiable heaps of twisted metal and fabric left in the street, as trains roared by and a helicopter circled overhead. Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2024
Noun
The sensation of ripping through six forward gears with the LT4’s stentorian roar echoing off of a canyon wall is one of the best in motoring. Kyle Hyatt, Robb Report, 1 Mar. 2024 But this particular free throw from Anthony Davis with 2:49 left in the first half earned a semi-sarcastic roar. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024 Once on the brink of extinction, elephant seals are expanding north into new breeding grounds along the California coast, turning long-empty beaches into a ruckus of roars, grunts, chirps and moans. Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024 The thunderous roar of the explosion washes over the audience, and scientists cheer each other in giddy disbelief. Hasina Jeelani, Vogue, 27 Feb. 2024 Sound designer Jonathan Deans creates the seat-shaking roar of distant falling trees and crackling flames. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2024 Despite this being a home game for the Galaxy, a significant roar went up in the stadium as the goal went in, before pockets of Argentina and Miami fans started bowing to Messi from the stands. Matias Grez, CNN, 26 Feb. 2024 The game entered its final minutes almost even as both sides traded 3-pointers, each drawing a larger roar from the Xfinity Center’s sellout crowd. Taylor Lyons, Baltimore Sun, 4 Feb. 2024 In the video, the dog effortlessly soars over the pole and lands in their owner's arm to a roar of cheers and applause. Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 9 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'roar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English roren, from Old English rārian; akin to Old High German rērēn to bleat

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of roar was before the 12th century

Cite this Entry

“Roar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roar. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

roar

1 of 2 verb
ˈrō(ə)r How to pronounce roar (audio)
ˈrȯ(ə)r
1
: to utter a long full loud sound
the lion roared
2
: to laugh loudly
3
: to say with a roar
roarer
ˈrōr-ər
ˈrȯr-
noun

roar

2 of 2 noun
1
a
: the deep loud cry of a wild animal (as a lion)
b
: a loud deep cry or shout
2
: a loud confused sound
the roar of the crowd

More from Merriam-Webster on roar

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