What does roast mean?
Roast is a versatile word with both culinary and figurative meanings. In cooking, it describes food that has been cooked with dry heat, usually in an oven, and the resulting dish can be called a roast, as in roast beef or roast chicken. The word can also describe an act of cooking: food is roasted until browned and tender, often with a crisp outer surface. In informal English, to roast someone means to criticize or mock them severely, often in a witty or entertaining way. A roast can likewise be a sharp, public critique or a humorous performance based on someone's flaws. Roast therefore moves easily between the physical process of cooking and the metaphorical idea of intense scrutiny, while remaining familiar in both British and American usage.
To cook food with dry heat, usually in an oven or over a fire.
"We roasted the vegetables at a high temperature."
Often used with an oven, meat, potatoes, vegetables, or other foods that benefit from browning.
To criticize or mock someone harshly, often in a humorous or public way.
"The performers roasted their teammate throughout the sketch."
Informal; frequently used in comedy, entertainment, and conversational contexts.
A piece of meat or other food cooked by dry heat.
"They served a roast with potatoes and seasonal vegetables."
In British English, “roast” can also refer to the meal taken at midday on Sunday.
An act of severe criticism or mockery directed at someone.
"The host delivered a roast of the mayor's record."
Often informal and humorous, especially in comedy or public performance.
The plural is used for individual roasted dishes or for separate acts of criticism or mockery.
"The menu featured several roasts, and the comedian's sharp roasts had the audience laughing."
A roast can be a meal, a method of cooking, or a verbal takedown—and the informal sense comes from figuratively heating someone up with criticism.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does roast come from?
The word descends through Middle English from Old French rost, meaning roasted meat. Its deeper origin is associated with Latin vocabulary for roasting, and cognate forms survive in several European languages. The culinary sense developed well before the modern figurative sense of harshly criticizing someone, which became especially prominent in informal and comedic usage.
Related word forms
How roast is actually used
The culinary sense is standard in British and US English. The critical sense is informal and often humorous or theatrical, especially when describing a public performance; “take a roasting” is especially common in British English.
Easily confused with roast
Roast generally means cooking food with sustained dry heat, while toast means browning bread or another small food item until it becomes crisp.