/ɹaʊst/
Origin1650s, variant of rouse, possibly influenced by rout.
- transitiveto rout out of bed; to rouse.
“"Why didn't you roust me out?" / "Well, I tried to, but I couldn't; I couldn't budge you." / "Well, all right. Don't stand there palavering all day, but out with you and see if there's a fish on the l”
“1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure
Yesterday morn at 6:30 they rousted me up & gave me 2 shots in the behind.”
- informal, transitiveTo harass, to treat in a rough way.
“My client is an ex-convict. He's been constantly harassed by the police... subjected to extreme mental cruelty and public degradation. He's even been denied an adequate place to live! To be very blunt”
- slang, transitiveTo arrest.
- transitiveTo drive strongly.
- A strong tide or current, especially in a narrow channel.
“At the north point of this island, called Ska, goes a very rapid current; like the Roust of Sumburghead”
Formsrousts(present, singular, third-person) · rousting(participle, present) · rousted(participle, past) · rousted(past) · rousts(plural) · roost(alternative) · rost(alternative)