roar1
/rɔː
/noun
1A full, deep, prolonged cry uttered by a lion or other large wild animal: she waited for the lion’s roar...
- In a close-up, one of the beasts lets out a mighty roar, and we see a baby sleeping peacefully inside its mouth.
- There's an odd melody that I remember not liking from when I saw the film, and it doesn't really work that well, although it's not too bad when it's mixed with dinosaur roars.
- As we leave, echoes of the roar of the king of beasts lingers in the still air over proud and deserted ruins of Hampi.
1.1A loud, deep sound uttered by a person or crowd, generally as an expression of pain, anger, or approval: he gave a roar of rage...
- Still for the most part, the Dolby Digital Stereo sonics capture the roar of the crowd and the curtness of the commentary very well.
- I miss live performance, the smell of the bean sprouts, the roar of the crowd.
- They departed the stage just ahead of Macca and Bono's entrance and an almighty roar from the crowd.
Synonyms
shout, bellow, yell, cry, howl, shriek, scream, screech;
clamour, clamouring
North American informal holler
rare vociferation, ululation
1.2A loud outburst of laughter: her remarks brought a roar of laughter from the old man...
- The critic reported that this disclaimer brought a roar of laughter from the audience with which she watched the film.
- With a roar of laughter and a big round of applause, the soldiers ask if she'll be at the dance.
- If you have a full house, you hear roars of laughter at certain points.
Synonyms
guffaw, howl, hoot, shriek;
gale, peal
1.3A very loud, deep, prolonged sound made by something inanimate: the roar of the sea...
- This is an incredibly well-managed track that lets you feel the rumble and roar of the tanker every time it bears down on or overtakes the struggling Plymouth.
- Two scenes in particular stand out for their use of offscreen space; the first, a shot of a nondescript intersection, which seems unremarkable until the roar of an unseen plane flying very close overhead is deafening.
- The prolonged moments of near silence in the film produce the aesthetic effect of outlasting the remembered roar of government tanks.
Synonyms
loud noise, boom, booming, crash, crashing, rumble, rumbling, roll, thundering, peal, crack, clap, thunderclap
verb
1 [no object] (Of a lion or other large wild animal) utter a full, deep, prolonged cry: we heard a lion roar...
- The beast roars up at you and grabs your neck, dragging you into the swamp with it.
- The format quickly posed an annoyance - did I really need to endure the MGM lion roaring at the start of every single featurette?
- He plays the part of the lion that roars onstage in Act 5.
1.1(Of a person or crowd) utter a loud, deep, prolonged sound, typically from anger, pain, or excitement: Manfred roared with rage...
- The crowd roars with delight during the whole thing.
- The Moscow crowd roared with approval.
- The students roar with approval, and, even though the principal expels her and crosses her name off the ballot, her fellow students vote for her anyway.
Synonyms
bellow, yell, shout, bawl, howl, cry, shriek, scream, screech
North American informal holler
rare vociferate, ululate
1.2(Of something inanimate) make a very loud, deep, prolonged sound: a huge fire roared in the grate...
- To the right was the interior to the library where a fire was roaring in the fireplace and a bunch of actors were hanging around preparing for their next shoot.
- The scientist says that when the 2000 fire roared through, the ungrazed pastures fared the worst.
- As you feel the plane angle back as it approaches the deck you hear the engine roar while the pilot basically floors it.
Synonyms
boom, rumble, crash, roll, thunder, peal
1.3 [with object] Utter or express in a loud tone: the crowd roared its approval [with direct speech]: ‘Get out of my way!’ he roared...
- Terfel roars out his righteous rage and coos his ludicrous love songs with equal aplomb, making the formidable vocal feats seem almost ridiculously easy.
- Well guys, I would wait and see if the public roars approval before you spend more money, otherwise you may find yourselves well down the food chain.
- The audience roared its approval.
1.4 [with object and adverbial] (Of a crowd) encourage (someone) to do something by loud shouts or cheering: Damon Hill will be roared on this weekend by a huge home crowd
1.5Laugh loudly: Shirley roared in amusement...
- We can see the Benedictines roaring with laughter, twisting in their seats, their faces changing color like the chimera's skin was supposed to do.
- When I saw Marmoolak the theater roared with laughter almost throughout the film.
- The gags in the movie make the one-liners in the evening sitcoms look recherché, but the packed house I saw the film with roared at every one.
Synonyms
guffaw, laugh heartily, roar/howl/shriek with laughter, laugh hysterically, laugh uproariously, be convulsed with laughter, burst out laughing, hoot
informal split one's sides, be rolling in the aisles, be doubled up, crack up, laugh like a drain, be in stitches, die laughing
British informal crease up, fall about
1.6(Of a horse) make a loud noise in breathing as a symptom of disease of the larynx.
2 [no object, with adverbial] (Especially of a vehicle) move at high speed making a loud prolonged sound: a car roared past...
- A motorcycle roared up the street outside the church, tearing the music, but Anton drew the threads together again, feeling the audience entering the music with him.
- I remember not being able to stay in the theatre when the bikes came roaring up the road towards the woman and child.
- All the ideas evident in early German expressionism are applied to the simple design of two cars roaring down a dark and desolate road.
Synonyms
speed, zoom, whizz, flash
informal belt, tear, vroom, scorch, zap, zip, burn rubber
British informal bomb
2.1Act or happen fast and decisively or conspicuously: Swindon roared back with two goals...
- For a moment the film's ominous underlying theme, parental panic, roars to the surface with great immediacy and clarity.
- By combining state-of-the-art computer animation with live-action landscapes, you'll marvel as these fearsome creatures roar to life!
- After various musical interludes, Chase roars into action to blow up the giant radioactive beast.
Phrases
roar someone up
Derivatives
roarer
- They built up whole orchestras of crackers, roarers, bubblers, thunderers and bursters.
- I understand he was at least in an amateur, if not semi-professional way, a lion roarer.
- Gangs of youthful roarers - sometimes high-born bucks, sometimes apprentices and lower-class types, all usually drunk - roamed city landscapes illuminated only by hand-held torches and lanterns and moonlight.
Origin
Old English rārian (verb), imitative of a deep prolonged cry, of West Germanic origin; related to German röhren. The noun dates from late Middle English.
Rhymes
ROAR2
abbreviation
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