Join free

roost

English · Français · Deutsch · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

roost¹

  • /ɹuːst/ UK
  • /ɹʉwst/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹust/ US
  • /ɹʉːst/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /ɾuːst/ Wales
  • /ɾʉst/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉst/ Northern Ireland

Rhymes with -uːst

Where it comes from

From Middle English roste (“chicken's roost; perch”), from Old English hrōst (“wooden framework of a roof; roost”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrōst, from Proto-Germanic *hrōstaz (“wooden framework; grill”); see *raustijan.

Cognate with Dutch roest (“roost”), German Low German Rust (“roost”), German Rost (“grate; gridiron; grill”).

noun roosts

  1. The place where a bird sleeps (usually its nest or a branch). He clapp'd his wings upon his roost.
  2. collective A group of birds roosting together. a roost of birds is merely a fortuitous aggregation of individuals that have strategically placed their roost site to minimize distance to their supplemental and main food sources
  3. A bedroom.
  4. Scotland The open cross-joists or inner roof of a cottage or living space.
  5. A kick which causes the ball to travel a long distance.
  6. Synonym of perch (“a position that is secure and advantageous”).

    Similar: perch

verb roosts · roosting · roosted

  1. intransitive, of flying vertebrates To settle on a perch in order to sleep or rest.
  2. figuratively To spend the night. The UPS package centre for central London, a brief walk from Kentish Town tube station, holds a below-ground bay in which 170 vans roost every night.
  3. transitive To kick (a ball) a long distance.

roost²

  • /ɹuːst/ UK
  • /ɹʉwst/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹust/ US
  • /ɹʉːst/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /ɾuːst/ Wales
  • /ɾʉst/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉst/ Northern Ireland

Rhymes with -uːst

noun roosts

  1. Orkney, Shetland, alternative Alternative form of roust (“a strong tide or current”). Sometimes the whole tract swung to one side, like the tail of a live serpent; sometimes, for a glimpse, it would all disappear and then boil up again. What it was I had no guess, which for the time increased my fear of it; but I now know it must have been the roost or tide race, which had carried me

roost³

  • /ɹuːst/ UK
  • /ɹʉwst/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹust/ US
  • /ɹʉːst/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /ɾuːst/ Wales
  • /ɾʉst/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉst/ Northern Ireland

Rhymes with -uːst

verb roosts · roosting · roosted

  1. alternative Alternative form of roust

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: perch, rest, nest, muscle, den, deposit, bunkhouse, lodge, shelter, dormitory, lodging, dorm, accommodation, sit, heeling, ward

Translations

Every language

noun place for sleeping birds

Españolgallinero, pajarera
日本語塒 negura
Portuguêspoleiro
DeutschNest
Italianopollaio
Русскийнасе́ст nasést

verb settle on a perch in order to sleep or rest

日本語就塒する shūji suru
Deutschauf einem Ast schlafen, auf einer Stange schlafen, übernachten
Italianoappollaiarsi

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"roost." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/roost. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

roost. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/roost

Chicago

"roost." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/roost.

BibTeX
@misc{roost_2026,
  title = {roost},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/roost},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}