roost

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noun \ ˈrüst \

Definition of roost

1 a :a support on which birds rest

b :a place where winged animals and especially birds customarily roost

2 :a group of birds roosting together

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See roost defined for kids

Recent Examples of roost from the Web

Here, a rooster sits atop the Delage as a reminder of which car brand ruled the roost that year in terms of style and character.

— hannah elliott, Bloomberg.com, "Get Up Close and Personal With the World’s Top Classic Cars," 21 Aug. 2017
Birds, disoriented by the sudden darkness, will return to roost.

— carol motsinger, Cincinnati.com, "8 questions about the upcoming solar eclipse you were afraid to ask," 16 Aug. 2017
Nvidia presently commands the performance roost with cards at the tip-top of its GeForce 10 series.

— matt peckham, Time, "AMD's RX Vega PC Gaming Graphics Lineup Is Late But Mighty," 31 July 2017
But in recent years, one character has consistently ruled the roost -- and he isn't seen wearing tennis whites.

— george ramsay, CNN, "Wimbledon: Why Rufus the Hawk rules the roost on Centre Court," 13 July 2017
As the sky blackens and the stars and planets become visible, birds will fly back to their roosts.

— rebecca boyle, The Atlantic, "What Are Your Eclipse Plans?," 22 June 2017
Here are five terrific possibilities, from the casual toast and panini-centric The Press — don’t miss the avocado toast and tomato soup duo — to Sabio on Main, where tapas rule the roost.

— jackie burrell, The Mercury News, "Five fantastic Pleasanton restaurants," 13 June 2017
Both vultures, black and turkey, getting off their roosts and catching the mid-morning thermals. 4: More water.

— taylor piephoff, charlotteobserver, "18 holes of golf yield 18 observations of birds," 9 June 2017
Gary Vonderohe, a fish biologist in the department's Charleston office, said the man found them in his yard - beneath a tree used as a roost by cormorants.

— bill monroe, OregonLive.com, "Wild winter steelhead may be MIA; or just unseen in high water," 2 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'roost.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of roost

Middle English, from Old English hrōst; akin to Old Saxon hrōst attic

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

Other Birds Terms

aerie, bunting, clutch, covey, hackle, ratite, rictus, ruff, skein, zygodactyl

roost

verb

Definition of roost

intransitive verb

1 :to settle down for rest or sleep :perch

2 :to settle oneself as if on a roost

transitive verb

:to supply a roost for or put to roost

See roost defined for English-language learners

Examples of roost in a Sentence

Pigeons roost on the building's ledge.
pigeons flying home to roost on the roof

Recent Examples of roost from the Web

Songbirds could stop singing or change their repertoire and roosting birds may take a nap.

— NOLA.com, "How will plants, birds and insects respond to the solar eclipse?," 19 Aug. 2017
Songbirds could stop singing or change their repertoire and roosting birds may take a nap.

— NOLA.com, "How will plants, birds and insects respond to the solar eclipse?," 19 Aug. 2017
Songbirds could stop singing or change their repertoire and roosting birds may take a nap.

— OregonLive.com, "How will plants, birds and insects respond to the solar eclipse?," 13 Aug. 2017
How to interpret such a thing except as Google’s own private Reddit, where the bravado of the white man’s internet comes home to roost at the office?

— ian bogost, The Atlantic, "A Googler's Would-Be Manifesto Reveals Tech's Rotten Core," 6 Aug. 2017
There was storks and vultures kind of roosting along the trees and defecating, so certain trees were covered in guano ...

— diana crow, Smithsonian, "The Upside of Rotting Carcasses," 25 July 2017
As many as 200 of the lanky white birds are flopping awkwardly in the tops of the towering trees, roosting, squawking, falling out of nests.

— robert cadwallader, star-telegram, "Egrets making life miserable for Arlington residents, but ‘next year we have a plan’," 3 July 2017
In Stone’s universe, this is a truth that the people of the United States must understand: that the U.S.’s hostile acts abroad have consequences, that chickens ultimately come home to roost.

— alex shephard, New Republic, "Natural Born Buddies: The Shared Ideology of Oliver Stone and Vladimir Putin," 21 June 2017
The only witnesses were his fellow birds roosting in the same tree who fluttered down to watch him take his last breaths.

— linda robertson, miamiherald, "Peacock hatred has come to this: Shooting them out of trees in Coconut Grove," 14 June 2017

First Known Use of roost

1530

roost Synonyms

Synonyms

land, light, perch, alight, settle, touch down

Antonyms

blast off, take off

Related Words

belly-land, crash-land

Near Antonyms

arise, ascend, climb, rise; float, fly, glide, plane, soar, wing; hang, hover

ROOST Defined for English Language Learners

roost

play

noun

Definition of roost for English Language Learners

: a place where birds rest or sleep

roost

verb

Definition of roost for English Language Learners

of a bird : to rest or sleep somewhere

ROOST Defined for Kids

roost

play

noun \ ˈrüst \

Definition of roost for Students

:a place where birds rest or sleep

roost

verb

Definition of roost for Students

roosted; roosting

:to settle down for rest or sleep

Sparrows roost in the trees.

Learn More about roost

See words that rhyme with roost Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for roost Spanish Central: Translation of roost Nglish: Translation of roost for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of roost for Arabic speakers

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roost

Definition of roost

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Recent Examples of roost from the Web

Origin and Etymology of roost

Other Birds Terms

roost

Definition of roost

Examples of roost in a Sentence

Recent Examples of roost from the Web

First Known Use of roost

roost Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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ROOST Defined for English Language Learners

roost

Definition of roost for English Language Learners

roost

Definition of roost for English Language Learners

ROOST Defined for Kids

roost

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roost

Definition of roost for Students

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