roared; roaring; roars
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)
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
Synonyms
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
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Robert Pushkar, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Sep. 2023
On Tuesday, a caravan of big rig trucks roared into Sacramento as the Teamsters union rallied support for a bill banning driverless trucks in California.
—WIRED, 22 Sep. 2023
Which means that Ernaux doesn’t give us insolent graffiti or the occupation of the Sorbonne or Godard roaring insults at Cannes, but the thing that dealt the most effective blow that spring: the general strike.
—Tobi Haslett, Harper's Magazine, 18 Sep. 2023
The chip designer's shares finished lower after a roaring stock-market debut.
—Anna Hirtenstein, WSJ, 15 Sep. 2023
Two dams in the mountains above the city collapsed, sending floodwaters roaring down the Wadi Derna river and through the city center, sweeping away entire city blocks.
—Samy Magdy and Yousef Murad, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2023
Immediately following her victory, Gauff collapsed on the court in happy tears to roaring applause from the crowd.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 10 Sep. 2023
The clean winner brought the audience of 24,000 roaring to their feet in a prolonged ovation.
—Sally Jenkins, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2023
But on third-and-9 with 59 seconds left, CJ Nunnally IV roared into the backfield, tackled J.J. Davis eight yards behind the line of scrimmage and stripped the ball loose for McCoy.
—Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 9 Sep. 2023
Sebastien Laforest, Robb Report, 29 Sep. 2023
Tomato Red The roar of red took the fall 2023 runways by storm.
—Madeline Fass, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2023
The first true roar of the crowd was silenced once Darrian Dalcourt was penalized for being too far downfield.
—Nick Alvarez | Nalvarez@al.com, al, 9 Sep. 2023
Shortly after, the heat became unbearable, the noise a deafening roar.
—Elisa Neckar, Discover Magazine, 13 Sep. 2023
The nearly 24,000 spectators welcomed him with a massive roar, then showered him with the biggest one when Medvedev dumped a shot into the net to give Djokovic the title that has been surprisingly hard for the greatest hardcourt player in the sport’s history to win.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2023
The brute acceleration is accompanied by a booming mechanical roar, first from the intake and then the exhaust.
—Peter Jackson, Robb Report, 6 Sep. 2023
The awakening comes not from the polite chime of a hotel alarm but the guttural roar of a Ferrari engine, its call and answer echoing off the centuries-old walls of the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues.
—Paul Jebara, Town & Country, 5 Sep. 2023
Putting the solid face back on simply made the roar of its airflow more obvious by mildly muting the noise of the fan motors.
—PCMAG, 4 Sep. 2023
See More
Verb
Overhead, a roaring shell filled with musket balls exploded, raining shrapnel over the retreating troops.
—Robert Pushkar, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Sep. 2023
On Tuesday, a caravan of big rig trucks roared into Sacramento as the Teamsters union rallied support for a bill banning driverless trucks in California.
—WIRED, 22 Sep. 2023
Which means that Ernaux doesn’t give us insolent graffiti or the occupation of the Sorbonne or Godard roaring insults at Cannes, but the thing that dealt the most effective blow that spring: the general strike.
—Tobi Haslett, Harper's Magazine, 18 Sep. 2023
The chip designer's shares finished lower after a roaring stock-market debut.
—Anna Hirtenstein, WSJ, 15 Sep. 2023
Two dams in the mountains above the city collapsed, sending floodwaters roaring down the Wadi Derna river and through the city center, sweeping away entire city blocks.
—Samy Magdy and Yousef Murad, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2023
Immediately following her victory, Gauff collapsed on the court in happy tears to roaring applause from the crowd.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 10 Sep. 2023
The clean winner brought the audience of 24,000 roaring to their feet in a prolonged ovation.
—Sally Jenkins, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2023
But on third-and-9 with 59 seconds left, CJ Nunnally IV roared into the backfield, tackled J.J. Davis eight yards behind the line of scrimmage and stripped the ball loose for McCoy.
—Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 9 Sep. 2023
Noun
The alluring roar of engines further charges my excitement.
—Sebastien Laforest, Robb Report, 29 Sep. 2023
Tomato Red The roar of red took the fall 2023 runways by storm.
—Madeline Fass, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2023
The first true roar of the crowd was silenced once Darrian Dalcourt was penalized for being too far downfield.
—Nick Alvarez | Nalvarez@al.com, al, 9 Sep. 2023
Shortly after, the heat became unbearable, the noise a deafening roar.
—Elisa Neckar, Discover Magazine, 13 Sep. 2023
The nearly 24,000 spectators welcomed him with a massive roar, then showered him with the biggest one when Medvedev dumped a shot into the net to give Djokovic the title that has been surprisingly hard for the greatest hardcourt player in the sport’s history to win.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2023
The brute acceleration is accompanied by a booming mechanical roar, first from the intake and then the exhaust.
—Peter Jackson, Robb Report, 6 Sep. 2023
The awakening comes not from the polite chime of a hotel alarm but the guttural roar of a Ferrari engine, its call and answer echoing off the centuries-old walls of the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues.
—Paul Jebara, Town & Country, 5 Sep. 2023
Putting the solid face back on simply made the roar of its airflow more obvious by mildly muting the noise of the fan motors.
—PCMAG, 4 Sep. 2023
See More
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
Phrases Containing roar
Dictionary Entries Near roar
Cite this Entry
“Roar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roar. Accessed 13 Oct. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
roar
1 of 2 verb
ˈrō(ə)r 
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
noun
ˈrōr-ər
ˈrȯr-
roar
2 of 2 noun1
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
Nglish: Translation of roar for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of roar for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share