roost

1 of 2

noun

ˈrüst 

1

a

: a support on which birds rest

b

: a place where winged animals and especially birds customarily roost

2

: a group of birds roosting together

roost

2 of 2

verb

roosted; roosting; roosts

intransitive verb

1

: to settle down for rest or sleep : perch

2

: to settle oneself as if on a roost

transitive verb

: to supply a roost for or put to roost

Synonyms

Verb

• perch
• land

Examples of roost in a Sentence

Verb

Pigeons roost on the building's ledge.

pigeons flying home to roost on the roof

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Sitaram Raul, India - Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2025 Sitaram Raul found himself among the chaos as fruit bats left their roost in the ruins of an historical monument. —Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025

Additionally, prey transfer from the adult male in the roost to the lactating female was also observed. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2025

Verb

By comparison, Shari Redstone was never able to execute any strategic sale of Paramount assets before the media chickens came to roost. —Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025

Now in the twilight of his career and confronting a fictional film festival tribute of his own, Kelly’s emotional chickens come home to roost. —Matt Donnelly, Variety, 1 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English hrōst; akin to Old Saxon hrōst attic

First Known Use

Noun

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

Verb

1530, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing roost

• come home to roost
• rule the roost
• the/his chickens are (finally) coming home to roost

Rhymes for roost

• boost
• loosed
• sluiced
• adduced
• conduced
• deduced
• induced
• produced
• reduced
• seduced
• traduced
• transduced

Kids Definition

roost

1 of 2 noun

ˈrüst 

1

: a support on which birds rest

2

: a place where birds often roost

roost

2 of 2 verb

: to settle down for rest or sleep : perch