roast

verb

ˈrōst 

roasted; roasting; roasts

transitive verb

1

a

: to cook by exposing to dry heat (as in an oven or before a fire) or by surrounding with hot embers, sand, or stones

roast a potato in ashes

b

: to process a raw coffee bean by drying, heating to temperatures typically between 380-450°F (190-230°C) for seven to twenty minutes, and quickly cooling to room temperature to achieve a desired level of roast (see roast entry 2 sense 3)

… roasting coffee brings out flavor, aroma, and character; it also evaporates moisture.

—Lisa Kolb Ruland

2

: to heat to excess

roasted by the summer sun

3

: to subject to severe criticism or ridicule

The film was roasted by critics and isn't fondly remembered …

—John Fox

4

: to honor (a person) at a roast (see roast entry 2 sense 5)

5

metallurgy : to heat (inorganic material) in air and without fusing (as to oxidize sulfides or eliminate volatile matter)

Zinc is refined from its ore by roasting finely crushed zinc blende … in a furnace.

—Daniel A. Brandt

intransitive verb

1

: to cook food by heat

Once you've tossed the potatoes in your chosen fat, you're ready to roast.

—Fionnula Hainey

2

: to undergo the process of being roasted

left the potatoes in the oven to roast

—often used figuratively

We roasted in the stuffy classroom.

Synonyms of roast

• tease
• kid
• joke
• rib

Examples of roast in a Sentence

The chicken is roasting in the oven.

We roasted the peanuts over the fire.

The peanuts roasted over the fire.

We were roasting in the hot sun.

The movie is being roasted by the critics.

Recent Examples on the Web

Its rigorous, three-day prep includes being cured, poached, and roasted, guaranteeing one extremely juicy bird. —Jessi Roti, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 June 2026

Quinn wouldn’t even jokingly roast Jack and always insisted that Luke was going to be the best of the three of them. —Thomas Drance, New York Times, 5 June 2026

Ted Danson is apologizing for roasting onetime paramour Whoopi Goldberg while wearing blackface. —Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026

In March, Salisbury residents roasted Rowan County commissioners for the secrecy behind the rezoning of 400 acres of former farmland for data center usage. —Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English rosten, from Anglo-French rostir, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German rōsten to roast

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing roast

• crown roast
• dark roast
• light roast
• medium roast
• pot roast
• rib roast
• weiner roast
• wiener roast

Rhymes for roast

• boast
• coast
• doest
• dosed
• ghost
• grossed
• host
• most
• moste
• toast
• almost
• engrossed

Kids Definition

roast

1 of 3 verb

ˈrōst 

1

: to cook with dry heat (as in an oven)

2

: to be or make very hot

3

: to criticize severely in either a serious or joking way

roast

2 of 3 noun

1

: a piece of meat roasted or suitable for roasting

2

: an outing at which food is roasted

3

: severe criticism or kidding

roast

3 of 3 adjective

: cooked by roasting

roast beef

roast pork