roster

noun

ros·​ter ˈrä-stər 

also ˈrȯ-

or ˈrō-

1

a

: a roll or list of personnel

b

: such a list giving the order in which a duty is to be performed

a duty roster

c

: the persons listed on a roster

2

: an itemized list

Synonyms of roster

• list
• listing

Examples of roster in a Sentence

His name has been added to the team roster.

The team has a roster of 40 players.

Recent Examples on the Web

Kansas has not been a program built on turning over its roster every season but rather generating improvement from those already on it — and then trying to find ways to fill in the gaps when necessary. —Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 2 Apr. 2026

There are eight players on the WR roster who were on an active NFL roster for multiple games last season in Carolina or elsewhere. —Alex Zietlow april 2, Charlotte Observer, 2 Apr. 2026

This is the 10th season since UConn's sixth and last undefeated national title in 2016, a 38-0 team with a roster of eight future pros that included four-time champions Stewart and Moriah Jefferson in their senior seasons when Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson were freshmen. —ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026

Three more players, all defensemen, got banged up in the Panthers’ 6-3 win against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena, thinning out an already thin roster that has eight games left on its schedule and is all but mathematically eliminated from making the Stanley Cup playoffs. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Dutch rooster, literally, gridiron; from the parallel lines

First Known Use

1727, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for roster

• coster
• zoster
• exhauster
• imposter
• impostor

Kids Definition

roster

noun

ros·​ter ˈräs-tər 

: a list usually of people belonging to some group