I. ˈrōst verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English rosten, from Old French rostir, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch roosten to roast, Old High German rōsten (both derivatives from a noun represented by Middle Dutch roost gridiron, grill, Old High German rōst )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cook by exposure to radiant heat before a fire or in an oven open toward the fire and having reflecting surfaces within — distinguished from bake
roast meat on a spit
b. : to cook in an oven by dry heat
c. : to cook by surrounding with hot embers, ashes, sand, or stones
roast a potato in ashes
d. : to dry and parch by exposure to heat
roast coffee
roast chestnuts
2. : to heat (inorganic material) with access of air and without fusing in order to effect useful physical changes: as
a. : to expel volatile matter
b. : to effect oxidation
c. : to remove sulfur from sulfide ores — compare calcine
3.
a. : to heat to excess
after supper, when the sun no longer roasted the valley — Oliver La Farge
b. obsolete : to cause to be hot with fury
4. : to ridicule or criticize severely
the critics roasted the elaborately staged work — Newsweek
intransitive verb
1. : to cook meat, fish, or vegetables by heat (as before a fire or in an oven)
2. : to undergo the process of being roasted or of getting heated as if being roasted
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: in sense 1, from Middle English rost, from Middle French, from Old French, from rostir, v.; in other senses, from roast (I)
1. : a piece of meat which has been roasted or is suitable for being roasted ; especially : a roast of beef
pork roast
— see beef illustration
2. : a party or social gathering at which the main food is prepared by roasting before an open fire or in hot ashes or sand
corn roast
wienie roast
3. : an act or process of roasting ; specifically : severe banter, ridicule, or criticism
4. : a class or variety of roasted coffee as determined by length of roasting or extent of change during that process
III. adjective
Etymology: Middle English rost, past participle of rosten, v.
: roasted
roast beef
IV. noun
: a banquet honoring a person (as a celebrity) who is subjected to humorous tongue-in-cheek ridicule by friends