: to cook by exposing to dry heat (as in an oven or before a fire) or by surrounding with hot embers, sand, or stones
roast a potato in ashes
b
: to dry and parch by exposure to heat
roast coffee beans
2
: to heat (inorganic material) with access of air and without fusing to effect change (such as expulsion of volatile matter, oxidation, or removal of sulfur from sulfide ores)
3
: to heat to excess
roasted by the summer sun
4
: to subject to severe criticism or ridicule
films have been roasted by most critics H. J. Seldes
Verb The chicken is roasting in the oven. We roasted the peanuts over the fire. The peanuts roasted over the fire. We were roasting in the hot sun. The movie is being roasted by the critics. Noun She made a roast for dinner. We're having pork roast for dinner. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Ingredients are sold year-round out of a vintage Airstream trailer called Camp Wharf, set next to a firepit where diners can then roast them. Tanya Sichynsky, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2022 Return the pan to the oven and roast an additional 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes just start to shrivel. Ann Maloney, Washington Post, 21 June 2022 Return the pan to the same rack and roast the sweet potatoes until they are browned on the bottom, about 20 minutes. Christian Reynoso, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Feb. 2021 Cauliflower of Many Colors Prechopped and ready to roast, easy. Alex Beggs, Bon Appétit, 28 Feb. 2022 For 3 1/2 years, owners Emily Rickman and her husband, Sawyer, and their business partner, Pascual Reig, would roast their coffee beans monthly and make local deliveries going door-to-door. Emily Mesner, Anchorage Daily News, 2 July 2022 Biden used his time at the podium to roast, well, everyone.BostonGlobe.com, 30 Apr. 2022 Members of The Girlfriends Club, and organizer Cheree Larson, far right, gather around a campfire at a Millcreek Canyon picnic area to roast marshmallows for s'mores on Friday, July 15, 2022. Julie Jag, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 July 2022 Others drew more heavily from the language of the internet to roast Hawley. Jonathan Edwards, BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2022
Noun
Instead of roast beef sandwiches, Pierre now holds cheeseburgers, the diner’s specialty. Clare Ansberry, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2022 Other classics locals clamor for include wontons at Mak's Noodle (77 Wellington St, Central), Yat Lok's roast goose (34-38 Stanley St., Central) and Tai Cheong Bakery's cookie crust egg tarts (35 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central).CNN, 6 Sep. 2022 The deep red of the farmhouse’s hallway wallpaper positively throbs, while the roast suckling pig left on the porch by Ruth in her refusal of charity becomes a teeming hive of maggots. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2022 There will be a pig roast on Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 2 Sep. 2022 Fred was a cast member of the roast performers, and Ness was a common target of the comedians. Annie Nickoloff, cleveland, 1 Sep. 2022 The roast beef sandwiches are $4.75 while hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and steak plate are all less than $7. Alexa Gagosz, BostonGlobe.com, 31 Aug. 2022 Press extra-firm tofu to remove excess liquid, then break it into pieces, marinate and roast. Becca Miller, Good Housekeeping, 31 Aug. 2022 Coventry church hosting roast pork dinner COVENTRY – Second Congregational Church of Coventry, located at 1746 Boston Turnpike, is hosting a drive through/take-out dinner on Saturday, Sept. 17.Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2022
Adjective
The options are egg salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, ham and Swiss, turkey club, Italian and roast beef. Susan Dunne, courant.com, 27 Jan. 2022 Christmas specials to include roast goose shanks, as well as the full regular menu. Carol Deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9 Dec. 2021 The 10 smart Programs are roast, stew, bake, steam, slow cook, sear/sauté, rice, yogurt, ferment and warm. Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 11 Nov. 2021 Tran came up in comedy through the roast scene as a performer on Roast Battle and writer for Historical Roasts, and her stand-up retains that defiant, gutsy style. Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2021 Best of all was the evening’s special ($38), an enormous filet of tender grouper fish cooked to perfection, topped with olive tapenade and served with roast purple potato, heirloom tomatoes and a buttery sauce.San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 July 2021 Our family's traditional holiday dinner is roast beef with all the trimmings served late in the day on a candlelit table, a once-a-year, festive feast.Star Tribune, 23 Dec. 2020 Go to Fiore’s in Hoboken, New Jersey, and get the roast beef mozzarella with the hot peppers. Safid Deen, sun-sentinel.com, 27 Nov. 2020 Convection Works’ toaster oven includes rotisserie spit and rods to slow-roast poultry ($174.39, save 20%).oregonlive, 14 Oct. 2020 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English rosten, from Anglo-French rostir, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German rōsten to roast