Roar Meaning
/ˈɹɔː/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.
verbTo laugh in a particularly loud manner.
Sentence Examples
The cheers swelled to a roar.
Leo started to roar when he was two years old.
CEFR Practice Quiz
When the animal became angry, it would ____ so loudly that the whole forest could hear.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The crowd let out a deafening ____ when the home team scored the winning goal in the final minute.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English roren, raren, from Old English rārian (“to roar; wail; lament”), from Proto-West Germanic *rairōn, from Proto-Germanic *rairōną (“to bellow; roar”), from Proto-Indo-European *rey- (“to shout; bellow; yell; bark”), perhaps of imitative origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian roorje (“to roar”), German röhren (“to roar”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Sole on the barren ſands the ſuff'ring chief / Roar'd out for anguiſh, and indulg'd his grief."
— a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 434:
"Roaring bulls he would him make to tame."
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, , stanzas 6-7, page 14:
"The brazen throat of war had ceased to roar."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"How oft I crossed where carts and coaches roar."
— [1716], [John] Gay, “(please specify the page)”, in Trivia: Or, The Art of Walking the Streets of London, London: […] Bernard Lintott, […], →OCLC:
"United's attempt to extend their unbeaten league sequence to 23 games this season looked to be in shreds as the Seasiders - managed by Ian Holloway - roared into a fully deserved two-goal lead at the interval."
— 2011 January 25, Phil McNulty, “Blackpool 2-3 Man Utd”, in BBC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
When the animal became angry, it would ____ so loudly that the whole forest could hear.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The crowd let out a deafening ____ when the home team scored the winning goal in the final minute.