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

• alight
• land
• light
• perch
• settle
• touch down

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

By shooting light, the bird still hadn’t left his roost, and Drew tried calling a few times. —Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 1 May 2025

These boxes also are used as a winter roost to help owls survive harsh weather conditions. —Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Dec. 2024

Verb

All of this came to roost in Tesla’s most recent earnings report last week. —Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025

Glass birds in the mornings and roost them in the evenings to better understand their behavior. —Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 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