roosting

verb

present participle of roost
1
as in perching
to come to rest after descending from the air pigeons flying home to roost on the roof

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nestling
to establish or place comfortably or snugly a gang of friends had roosted themselves around the ski lodge's massive fireplace

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of roosting To search for evidence of fire use, the researchers analyzed rodent bones littering the cave, deposited over thousands of years by roosting owls. — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 3 July 2026 Eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and Monterey cypress trees are common homes for roosting monarchs, as those tree species provide adequate shelter from weather and predators. — Chelsee Lowe, Travel + Leisure, 9 Nov. 2025 The county said construction for the park would not take place within 200 feet of roosting sites for the bat, but provided no evidence to support that as a proper buffer, adding another inadequacy to the environmental review, Bacal said. — Hannah Elsmore, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Nov. 2025 Exclusion is the most effective means of keeping bats from roosting in your house. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025 Though no condors were roosting near the Grand Canyon area wildfires, the Peregrine Fund evacuated three captive condors in their facilities to a safe location. — John Leos, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025 Here, the wide, shallow channels are perfect for roosting birds, while the surrounding cornfields provide a post-harvest buffet, allowing the cranes to fatten up for the long journey to their breeding grounds in the northern stretches of the United States, Canada, and even Siberia. — Nicholas Derenzo, AFAR Media, 16 Sep. 2025 If the permit is granted, the gulls' eggs can only be exterminated during roosting season between mid-May and mid-June. — Everett Eaton, jsonline.com, 15 Sep. 2025 The birds were roosting — settling in to sleep — in trees surrounding the Pyramid, including eucalyptus trees along Washington Street and in the park’s 50-year-old towering redwoods. — Culture Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roosting
  1. perching
  2. nestling
  3. landing
  4. lodging
  5. positioning
  6. parking
Verb
  • On the heels of the death of his longtime mate Jackie, bald eagle Shadow has been perching, singing and lounging at his Big Bear nest with a new companion.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Birdwatchers said Kaydee and Shadow have been flying around together for the past couple of days, flying to different trees and sometimes perching themselves on different branches for hours.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of perching
Verb
  • Add a striking focal point by nestling a statue fountain between groups of colorful flowers or lively foliage.
    — Savanna Bous, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Game by game, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is nestling himself into historical statistical company alongside some of the most vaunted NBA names ever.
    — Devon Henderson, New York Times, 19 May 2026
Definition of nestling
Verb
  • At one moment, the inspector observed two flies landing on an RPT handle and another landed on the counter in front of the handle near a cutting board.
    — Joseph Hernandez August 31, Kansas City Star, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Rookies ultimately have to master such challenges as flight dynamics, parachute malfunctions, and landing in dangerous conditions.
    — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of landing
Verb
  • That’s true even while lodging in a dorm room at Missouri Western State University, home of the Chiefs’ annual summer training camp.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The criminal complaint alleges that Castro fired a gun at the front door of a home in Minneapolis, striking a victim in the leg before lodging in a child’s bedroom wall, and then knowingly provided false information to an officer about it.
    — Mark Vancleave, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of lodging
Verb
  • Syria’s leaders are now positioning the country to benefit from a resurgence of regional turmoil.
    — Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Consistent social media and touring, including opening for Zach Bryan, amplified their reach, positioning the album as a forward-looking evolution.
    — Olivia Shalhoup, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of positioning
Verb
  • Try to keep parking clear in front of your home so that workers are less likely to park elsewhere.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025
Definition of parking

Browse Nearby Words

roosted
roosting
roosts
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Cite this Entry

“Roosting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roosting. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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