roar

UK/ˈɹɔː//ˈɹoɹ/

roar verb: to make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.

Verb

roar (third-person singular simple present roars, present participle roaring, simple past and past participle roared)

(intransitive) To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.
- Sole on the barren ſands the ſuff'ring chief / Roar'd out for anguiſh, and indulg'd his grief.a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760...
- Hearing the rout,
  Dame Gill came out,
  With a horse whip from the door,
  She laid it on Jack,
  And poor Jill's back,
  Until they both did roar.1810, Jack and Jill, and old Dame Gill, York: J. Kendrew, page 14
To laugh in a particularly loud manner.
- The audience roared at his jokes.
Of animals (especially a lion), to make a loud deep noise.
- The lioness roared to scare off the hyenas.
- Roaring bulls he would him make to tame.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, , stanzas 6-7, page 14
Generally, of inanimate objects etc., to make a loud resounding noise.
- The brazen throat of war had ceased to roar.1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- How oft I crossed where carts and coaches roar.[1716], [John] Gay, “(please specify the page)”, in Trivia: Or, The Art of Walking the Streets of London, London: […] Bernard Lintott, […], →OCLC
(figuratively) To proceed vigorously.
- United's attempt to extend their unbeaten league sequence to 23 games this season looked to be in shreds as the Seasiders - managed by Ian Holloway - roared into a fully deserved two-goal lead at the interval.2011 January 25, Phil McNulty, “Blackpool 2-3 Man Utd”, in BBC
(transitive) To cry aloud; to proclaim loudly.
- This last action will roar thy infamy.1639, John Ford, The Lady's Trial
- I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
To be boisterous; to be disorderly.
- It was a mad, roaring time, full of extravagance.1724, Gilbert Burnet, History of My Own Time
To make a loud noise in breathing, as horses do when they have a certain disease.
(Midlands, North, UK, Yorkshire, informal) To cry.
- Tom, Tom, the piper's son,
  Stole a pig, and away he run!
  The pig was eat, and Tom was beat,
  And Tom went roaring down the street.1886, James Orchard Halliwell, “Third Class: Tales: LX”, in The Nursery Rhymes of England

Noun

roar (plural roars)

A long, loud, deep shout, as of rage or laughter, made with the mouth wide open.
The cry of the lion.
- The Winkies were not a brave people, but they had to do as they were told. So they marched away until they came near to Dorothy. Then the Lion gave a great roar and sprang towards them, and the poor Winkies were so frightened that they ran back as fast as they could.1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co., →OCLC
- Tarzan could imagine how old Numa’s eyes were shining—how he was already sucking in his breath for the awful roar which would freeze his prey for the brief instant between the moment of the spring and the sinking of terrible fangs into splintering bones.1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 120
The deep cry of the bull.
A loud resounding noise.
- the roar of a motorbike
- I stand amid the roar / Of a surf-tormented shore, / And I hold within my hand / Grains of the golden sand—1849 March 31, Edgar Allan Poe, “A Dream Within a Dream”, in The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe: […], volumes II (Poems and Miscellanies), New York, N.Y.: J. S. Redfield, […], published 1850...
A show of strength or character.

roar meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

roar in Hindi

long, loud, deep shout: गरज garaj, गर्जन garjan, हुंकार huṅkār, नाद nād

roar in Tamil

பேரொலிசெய், முழங்கு, முழக்கம், கர்ச்சனை, கர்ஜனை

roar in Urdu

cry of the lion: گونج gūñj

More languagesFewer languages

roar in Bengali: গর্জন করা, চিৎকার করা
roar in Telugu: గర్జించు garjiñcu, హోరు hōru, మ్రోత mrōta, ఝంకరించు jhaṅkariñcu
roar in Malayalam: അലർച്ച alaṟcca, ഗർജനം gaṟjanaṁ
roar in Kannada: ಗರ್ಜನೆ, ಮೊರೆತ, ಅಬ್ಬರ, ಆರ್ಭಟ
roar in Punjabi: ਗੱਜਣਾ gajjaṇā
roar in Gujarati: ગરજવું garajvũ
roar in Odia: ଗରଜିବା garajibā, ଘୋଷ ghoṣa
roar in Sanskrit: गर्जति garjati
roar in Sinhala: ගිගුරනවා giguranawā
roar in Nepali: गर्जन, गर्जना, गर्जन गर्न
roar in Pashto: غړومبل ǧṛumbël
roar in Tagalog: ungol
roar in Arabic: زَأَرَ zaʔara, هَرْهَرَ harhara, أَنَّ ʔanna, قَهْقَهَ qahqaha
roar in Malay: mengaum, aum, ngauman
roar in Indonesian: mengaum
roar in Persian: غرش ġorreš, نعره na're, خروشیدن xorušidan, فریاد faryâd
roar in Vietnamese: gầm

Examples of roar in a sentence

The convention roared as the president stepped to the podium.
The engine finally caught and roared to life.
I sat down amid roars of laughter.

All 40 example sentences with roar

Forms of roar

Verb
third-person singular present	roars
present participle	roaring
past participle	roared
past	roared
Noun
plural	roars

Past tense of roar: roared

Plural of roar: roars

Origin of roar

From Middle English roren, raren, from Old English rārian (“to roar; wail; lament”), from Proto-West Germanic *rairōn, from Proto-Germanic *rairōną (“to bellow; roar”), from Proto-Indo-European *rey- (“to shout; bellow; yell; bark”), perhaps of imitative origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian roorje (“to roar”), German röhren (“to roar”).

Words formed from roar

Words that rhyme with roar

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about roar

What does roar mean?: Roar means to make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.
What is roar in Hindi?: Roar in Hindi is गरज (garaj), गर्जन (garjan), हुंकार (huṅkār). See Roar meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is roar?: Roar can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce roar?: Roar is pronounced /ˈɹɔː/ (UK).
What is the past tense of roar?: The past tense of roar is roared.

Words near roar in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-roar.ogg.

Cite this entry: “roar.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/roar. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.