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PlainSpell

roar

/ˈɹoɹ/verb, noun

roar is spelled R-O-A-R: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, roar means “To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in roar?

Letters4: R-O-A-R
Syllables1
In writing5.0 times per million words; the 11,198th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is roar?

Roar appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce roar?

  • UK /ˈɹɔː/
  • US /ˈɹoɹ/
  • US /ˈɹɔɹ/

Roar has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-roar.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with roar

Sounds like: raw (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with roar?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as roar from its last stressed vowel (/oɹ/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: orra.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of roar

  • roars present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • roaring participle, present
  • roared participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does roar mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.

  2. 2

    To laugh in a particularly loud manner.

    The audience roared at his jokes.

  3. 3

    Of animals (especially a lion), to make a loud deep noise.

    The lioness roared to scare off the hyenas.

  4. 4

    Generally, of inanimate objects etc., to make a loud resounding noise.

  5. 5

    To proceed vigorously.

  6. 6

    To cry aloud; to proclaim loudly.

  7. 7

    To be boisterous; to be disorderly.

  8. 8

    To make a loud noise in breathing, as horses do when they have a certain disease.

noun

  1. 1

    A long, loud, deep shout, as of rage or laughter, made with the mouth wide open.

  2. 2

    The cry of the lion.

  3. 3

    The deep cry of the bull.

  4. 4

    A loud resounding noise.

    the roar of a motorbike

  5. 5

    A show of strength or character.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Roar in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchrugir, hurler (to make loud, deep cry of emotion), s'esclaffer, rire aux éclats, rire à gorge déployée, éclater de rire (to laugh in a particularly loud manner)
Germanbrüllen (to make loud, deep cry of emotion), Tosen (long, loud, deep shout), Brüllen (cry of the lion), Aufheulen (loud resounding noise such as sound of a…)
Portugueseuivar, rugir (to make loud, deep cry of emotion), uivo (long, loud, deep shout), rugido (cry of the lion)
Spanishrugir (to make loud, deep cry of emotion), rugido, bramido (long, loud, deep shout), bramar (of animals, to make a loud deep noise)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does roar come from?

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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after roar