roast: Meaning and Definition of

roast

Pronunciation: (rōst), [key]
— v.t.
  1. to bake (meat or other food) uncovered, esp. in an oven.
  2. to cook (meat or other food) by direct exposure to dry heat, as on a spit.
  3. to brown, dry, or parch by exposure to heat, as coffee beans.
  4. to cook or heat by embedding in hot coals, embers, etc.: to roast chestnuts.
  5. to heat excessively: The summer sun has been roasting the entire countryside.
  6. to heat (ore or the like) in air in order to oxidize it.
  7. to warm at a hot fire: She roasted her hands over the fire.
  8. to ridicule or criticize severely or mercilessly.
  9. to honor with or subject to a roast: Friends roasted the star at a charity dinner.
—v.i.
  1. to roast meat or other food.
  2. to undergo the process of becoming roasted.
—n.
  1. roasted meat or a piece of roasted meat, as a piece of beef or veal of a quantity and shape for slicing into more than one portion.
  2. a piece of meat for roasting.
  3. something that is roasted.
  4. the act or process of roasting.
  5. severe criticism.
  6. a facetious ceremonial tribute, usually concluding a banquet, in which the guest of honor is both praised and good-naturedly insulted in a succession of speeches by friends and acquaintances.
  7. an outdoor get-together, as a picnic or barbecue, at which food is roasted and eaten: a weenie roast.
—adj.
  1. roasted: roast beef.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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