rousted; rousting; rousts

transitive verb

: to drive (as from bed) roughly or unceremoniously

Example Sentences

The soldiers were rousted from their beds before sunrise.
Recent Examples on the Web Advocates for the homeless ardently protest efforts to roust the encampments, arguing that people have nowhere else to go. Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2022 On Wednesday night, just as the curlers squeezed in one last practice run, an announcer, joined by the plump panda that serves as the Olympic mascot, tried to roust the modest assembly of spectators sprinkled throughout the stands. New York Times, 12 Feb. 2022 The officers rushed to roust nearby residents out of their homes and clear the avenue. New York Times, 1 Jan. 2022 The flight attendant had noticed our stalemate and offered to roust the man from my seat, but the situation felt too combustible to me, and 25C like too stupid a hill on which to die. Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2021 Most became involved to roust Trump from office — nearly 2 out of 3 voters rejected him in favor of Democrat Joe Biden. Joe Garofoli, SFChronicle.com, 18 Jan. 2021 The city had been on edge after prosecutors declined to bring charges in 2014 against the officer who killed Dontre Hamilton, who had been asleep on a park bench when police were called to roust him. Greg Moore, The Arizona Republic, 27 Aug. 2020 State troopers have repeatedly tried to roust the demonstrators, swooping in on late-night raids to seize their belongings and to arrest the activists. Tim Elfrink, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2020 Others have been rousted from their beds in the middle of the night in U.S. government shelters and put on planes out of the country without any notification to their families. Caitlin Dickerson, New York Times, 20 May 2020 See More

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

Word History

Etymology

alteration of rouse entry 1

First Known Use

1658, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of roust was in 1658

Dictionary Entries Near roust

Cite this Entry

“Roust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roust. Accessed 14 Jan. 2023.

More from Merriam-Webster on roust

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!


Fashionable Words

  • dog-sunglasses-scarf
  • Which of these items is named for a deadly weapon?
Spell It

Hear a word and type it out. How many can you get right?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

Can you make 12 words with 7 letters?

PLAY