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rooster

noun
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roost·​er | \ ˈrü-stər How to pronounce rooster (audio) also ˈru̇- How to pronounce rooster (audio) \

Definition of rooster

1a : an adult male domestic chicken : cock
b : an adult male of various birds other than the domestic chicken
2 : a cocky or vain man

Examples of rooster in a Sentence

We heard the crow of a rooster.
Recent Examples on the Web An Indian man has died after his cockfighting rooster slashed his throat with a blade tied to its claw. — Tim Pearce, Washington Examiner, "Rooster kills man on way to cockfight," 23 Jan. 2020 Men wear hats with feathers, to represent roosters and a masculine spirit, and gallop through town, past onlookers and marimba bands. — Rachel Nolan, The New Yorker, "A Translation Crisis at the Border," 30 Dec. 2019 The mascots of the University of Puerto Rico’s main campus are a rooster and a hen. — BostonGlobe.com, "Breeding aggressive roosters to fight, often to the death, for the sake of gambling and entertainment is barbaric, said Yolanda Álvarez, the former director of the Humane Society of Puerto Rico, who is working on a doctoral thesis on the history of cockfighting on the island.," 10 Nov. 2019 The mascots of the University of Puerto Rico’s main campus are a rooster and a hen. — Patricia Mazzei, New York Times, "The Last Days of Legal Cockfighting in Puerto Rico," 9 Nov. 2019 Among the white, ashy rubble sat an iron rooster and a stone Buddha. — Sarah Ravani, SFChronicle.com, "Kincade Fire: Rush of memories as residents return, see destroyed homes," 4 Nov. 2019 The rooster and the hen (and her eggs) played other roles in peoples’ lives: decorative, ceremonial, augural and very much for purposes of entertainment and gaming. — Bill St. John, The Denver Post, "Get Cooking: Colombian exchange — the chicken," 25 Sep. 2019 Martinez said many of the roosters were bloodied, injured and sickly-looking. — Rebecca Hennes, Houston Chronicle, "114 roosters wearing steel blades seized in connection to alleged cockfighting ring in Grimes County," 22 Oct. 2019 There were dozens of roosters participating in multiple matches, the agreement said. — Eric Heisig, cleveland.com, "Former Cleveland boxer admits to laundering drug money through real estate, training roosters for cockfights," 3 July 2019

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

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First Known Use of rooster

1772, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Time Traveler for rooster

Time Traveler

The first known use of rooster was in 1772

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Statistics for rooster

Last Updated

25 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Rooster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rooster. Accessed 28 Feb. 2020.

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More Definitions for rooster

rooster

noun
How to pronounce rooster (audio) How to pronounce rooster (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of rooster

chiefly US : an adult male chicken

See the full definition for rooster in the English Language Learners Dictionary

rooster

noun
roost·​er | \ ˈrü-stər How to pronounce rooster (audio) \

Kids Definition of rooster

: an adult male chicken

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More from Merriam-Webster on rooster

Spanish Central: Translation of rooster

Nglish: Translation of rooster for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of rooster for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about rooster

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