roar

1 of 2

verb

roared; roaring; roars

intransitive verb

1
a
: to utter or emit a full loud prolonged sound
b
: to sing or shout with full force
2
a
: to make or emit a loud confused sound (such as background reverberation or rumbling)
b
: to laugh loudly
3
a
: to be boisterous or disorderly
b
: to proceed or rush with great noise or commotion
4
: to make a loud noise during inhalation (such as that of a horse affected with roaring)

transitive verb

1
: to utter or proclaim with a roar
2
: to cause to roar

roar

2 of 2

noun

1
: the deep cry of a wild animal (such as a lion)
2
: a loud deep cry (as of pain or anger)
3
: a loud continuous confused sound
the roar of the crowd
4
: a boisterous outcry

Examples of roar in a Sentence

Verb We heard a lion roar in the distance. The joke got the crowd roaring. The crowd roared its approval. She roared at him for being late. Noun the roar of the airplane engines the roar of the river
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Before exiting the complex, the player, who seems to be wearing a dress shirt and vest, notices a group of fans and pulls over to say hello and sign some autographs before roaring off. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 21 Mar. 2024 The Northern Irishman had cut an exasperated figure following a double-bogey at the par-four 14th, but roared home with three consecutive birdies to card 69 – a score exactly in-between his brilliant opening 65 and error-strewn second round 73. Jack Bantock, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024 The kings of counterintuitive basketball struck again, playing rope-a-dope for the opening 13 minutes of the Mountain West semifinals Friday night at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center before roaring past top-seeded and 18th-ranked Utah State 86-70 in another vintage March performance. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2024 Their allegiance to punchy hooks helped the group land on AM airwaves while their roaring guitar suited FM radio. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 On the next possession, Davis swallowed up a Betts layup attempt for a jump ball, roaring and flexing to her bench in glee. Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 9 Mar. 2024 Hiding alongside the roaring lions and tigers at the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak are more than 40 pokestops and various gyms to host competitions with friends. Detroit Free Press, 1 Mar. 2024 But there’s one surprising area where Europe has been holding its own against the roaring U.S.—the stock market. Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 3 Mar. 2024 Winds on both sides of that front — which exceeded 50 mph at times — sent flames roaring through dormant grasses, Nielsen-Gammon said. Evan Bush, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024
Noun
Kimmel also directed a zinger at Sen. Katie Britt for her State of the Union response, and with time to kill near the end, generated a roar from the audience with a response to former President Donald Trump’s social-media post criticizing him, which at least wasn’t unprovoked. Brian Lowry, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 Neighbors complained that the roar of his bike starting up was waking them up in the morning. Lenny Rashid Ruvaga, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Mar. 2024 Kansas guard Nick Timberlake earned the loudest roar of the night from the Allen Fieldhouse crowd. Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 11 Feb. 2024 The sensation of ripping through six forward gears with the LT4’s stentorian roar echoing off of a canyon wall is one of the best in motoring. Kyle Hyatt, Robb Report, 1 Mar. 2024 But this particular free throw from Anthony Davis with 2:49 left in the first half earned a semi-sarcastic roar. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024 Once on the brink of extinction, elephant seals are expanding north into new breeding grounds along the California coast, turning long-empty beaches into a ruckus of roars, grunts, chirps and moans. Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024 The thunderous roar of the explosion washes over the audience, and scientists cheer each other in giddy disbelief. Hasina Jeelani, Vogue, 27 Feb. 2024 Sound designer Jonathan Deans creates the seat-shaking roar of distant falling trees and crackling flames. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'roar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English roren, from Old English rārian; akin to Old High German rērēn to bleat

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of roar was before the 12th century

Cite this Entry

“Roar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roar. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

roar

1 of 2 verb
ˈrō(ə)r How to pronounce roar (audio)
ˈrȯ(ə)r
1
: to utter a long full loud sound
the lion roared
2
: to laugh loudly
3
: to say with a roar
roarer
ˈrōr-ər
ˈrȯr-
noun

roar

2 of 2 noun
1
a
: the deep loud cry of a wild animal (as a lion)
b
: a loud deep cry or shout
2
: a loud confused sound
the roar of the crowd

More from Merriam-Webster on roar

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