/ɹuːst/, /ɹust/, /ɹʉst/
OriginFrom 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”).
- The place where a bird sleeps (usually its nest or a branch).
“He clapp'd his wings upon his roost.”
- A group of birds roosting together.
- A bedroom.
- ScotlandThe open cross-joists or inner roof of a cottage or living space.
- A kick which causes the ball to travel a long distance.
- Synonym of perch (“a position that is secure and advantageous”).
- intransitiveTo settle on a perch in order to sleep or rest.
- figurativelyTo 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.”
- transitiveTo kick (a ball) a long distance.
Formsroosts(plural) · roosts(present, singular, third-person) · roosting(participle, present) · roosted(participle, past) · roosted(past)