Link Centre Dictionary

roost

UK/ɹuːst/ US/ɹʉwst/ uncommon
verb (2) noun (2)

verb

1.

sit, as on a branch

  • “The birds perched high in the treee”
Synonyms
2.

settle down or stay, as if on a roost

noun

1.

a shelter with perches for fowl or other birds

2.

a perch on which domestic fowl rest or sleep

Origin

From Middle English roste (“chicken's roost; perch”), from Old English hrōst (“wooden framework of a roof; roost”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrōst, from Proto-Germanic *hrōstaz (“wooden framework; grill”); see *raustijan. Cognate with Dutch roest (“roost”), German Low German Rust (“roost”), German Rost (“grate; gridiron; grill”).

Phrases

  • cock of the roost
  • come home to roost
  • rule the roost
  • the chickens come home to roost
  • the highest branch is not the safest roost

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.