I. ˈrüst noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English rooste, from Old English hrōst; akin to Middle Dutch roest roost, palate, Old Saxon hrōst framing of a roof, attic, Middle High German rāz, rāze bonfire, honeycomb, Old Norse hrōt roof, Gothic hrot roof, Old Slavic krada pile of wood, bonfire
1.
a. : a pole or other support on which birds or fowls rest especially at night : perch
b. : a place where any birds customarily roost
the starlings in these vast roosts — British Birds in Colour
c. : a hen house or section of a building used for roosting
barns and chicken roosts that have been converted into living quarters — Dwight MacDonald
d. : a group of fowls or birds roosting together
alarms the whole roost into flight
2. : a resting place : lodging
the only roost was in the garret, which … contained 11 double beds — J.R.Lowell
3. : rookery 3
rededicated that roost of B-36 intercontinental bombers — New York Times
a roost of party members and supporters — Anthony West
the informal roost for most designers — D.M.Oenslager
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to settle down for rest or sleep : perch
coveys roost like quail on the ground during the night in stubble, under grass, and under low bushes — L.W.Wing
grasshoppers have a habit of roosting on sagebrush on warm nights — Ecology
killed 90 percent of the flies that roosted on the walls and ceilings overnight — Science News Letter
chickens roost at night
b. : to place or seat oneself as on a roost
the old men roosted on benches in front of the courthouse — Grace Metalious
men roosting on the car roofs of freight trains — A.F.Harlow
flyers roosting on the float of their overturned plane — E.L.Beach
2. : to lodge or stay for a night or a period of time usually in an informal or temporary manner
vagrants wandered up and down the country, roosting in hedgerows — J.A.Symonds
the hotels had been abandoned, and we roosted in them — A.J.Liebling
planes … roosted in the supposedly safe Inland sea — Newsweek
transitive verb
: to supply a roost for : put to roost
so named because Indians roosted their turkeys here — Cecile Johnson