roast

• rost (obsolete)

From Middle English rosten, a borrowing from Old French rostir (“to roast, to torture with fire”), from Frankish *rōstijan (“to roast, broil”), from Proto-Germanic *raustijaną (“to roast”), from Proto-Indo-European *rews- (“to crackle; roast”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian rosterje (“to roast”), Dutch roosten, roosteren (“to roast”), German rösten (“to roast”).

Displaced native Old English brǣdan.

• (General American) enPR: rōst, IPA^(key): /ɹoʊst/
• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: rōst, IPA^(key): /ɹəʊst/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊst

roast (third-person singular simple present roasts, present participle roasting, simple past and past participle roasted)

1. (transitive or intransitive or ergative) To cook food by heating in an oven or over a fire without covering, resulting in a crisp, possibly even slightly charred appearance.

   Coordinate terms: bake, boil, broil, fry, grill, poach, toast

   to roast meat on a spit

2. To cook by surrounding with hot embers, ashes, sand, etc.

   to roast a potato in ashes

   • 1631, Francis [Bacon], “(please specify |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:

     In eggs boiled and roasted […] there is scarce difference to be discerned.

3. (transitive or intransitive or ergative) To process by drying through exposure to sun or artificial heat.

   Coffee beans need roasting before use.

   to roast chestnuts or peanuts

4. To heat to excess; to heat violently; to burn.
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     roasted in wrath and fire

5. (transitive, figuratively) To admonish someone vigorously.

   I'm late home for the fourth time this week; my mate will really roast me this time.

6. (transitive, figuratively) To subject to bantering, severely criticize, sometimes as a comedy routine.

   The class clown enjoys being roasted by mates as well as staff.

7. (metalworking) To dissipate the volatile parts of by heat, as ores.

a roast (sense 1) after cooking and slicing

roast (plural roasts)

1. A cut of meat suited to roasting; meat that has been roasted.

   Serve the roast with gravy and mashed potatoes.

2. A meal consisting of roast foods.

   Come over this weekend for Sunday roast.

3. The degree to which something, especially coffee, is roasted.

   Dark roast means that the coffee bean has been roasted to a higher temperature and for a longer period of time than in light roast.

4. An instance of being severely admonished, criticized, roasted. [from 18th century]
   • 1899, Archibald Clavering Gunter, M.S. Bradford, Special, page 58:

     “He ain’t no good!” With this she steps back to the table where Miss Montague has just tired of the Cuban, slips her arms about that seraph’s waist, and says: “Your Frank is in Washington and my Jasper has just given me a roast. Reckon we’ll both have to be bachelor girls to-night.”

5. A comical event, originally fraternal, where a person is subjected to verbal attack, yet may be praised by sarcasm and jokes.
6. (Canada, US) A social event at which food is roasted and eaten. [from 19th century]

   On Memorial Day we hosted a wiener roast in the backyard.

7. (slang) A creative insult as a response to something someone said.

   Synonym: burn

roast (not comparable)

1. Having been cooked by roasting.

   Synonym: roasted

2. (figuratively) Subjected to roasting; bantered; severely criticized. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

• barbecue
• chargrill
• grill
• joint
• roasties

• “roast”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• Astor, Astro, Roats, Sarot, Troas, artos, astro, astro-, ratos, rotas, sorta, taros, tarso-

roast

1. elative singular of roog