Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A freshwater fish (Rutilus rutilus) of northern Europe.
- n. Any of various similar or related fishes, such as some North American sunfishes.
- n. The cockroach.
- n. Slang The butt of a marijuana cigarette.
- n. A roll of hair brushed up from the forehead or temple.
- n. A hairstyle especially among certain Native American peoples in which the head is shaved except for a strip from front to back across the top.
- n. Nautical An outward curve in the leech of a fore-and-aft sail.
- v. To brush (hair) in a roach.
- v. To shave (the mane of a horse) to a short bristle.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A common cyprinoid fish of Europe, Leuciscus rutilus. It inhabits the lakes, ponds, and slow-running rivers of England and of the south of Scotland, and is common in most other rivers in temperate parts of Europe. Its color is a grayish-green, the abdomen being silvery-white, and the fins reddish. It is gregarious, and the shoals are often large. Its average weight is under a pound, and, though a favorite with anglers, it is not much esteemed for the table.
- n. In the United States, one of many different fishes like or mistaken for the roach, as some sunfish of the genus Lepomis or Pomotis;
- n. the spot or lafayette
- n. the American chub, Semotilus atromaculatus.
- n. A rock.
- n. Refuse gritty stone.
- To make hard like a rock.
- n. Nautical, a concave curve in the leech or foot of a square sail, to improve the fit of the sail. A convex curve used in the head and foot of fore-and-aft sails is called a sweep.
- n. An upstanding curl or roll of hair over the forehead, like the roach of a sail.
- To cause to stand up or arch; make projecting or convex: as, his hair was roached up over his forehead.
- To cut short so as to cause to stand up straight; hog: said of horses' manes.
- n. A rash, or eruption on the skin.
- n. A cockroach.
- n. The redfin, Rutilus rutilus, a common European shiner or minnow of the family Cyprinidæ.
- n. In England, a shell limestone occurring at the top of the Portland Stone or Portlandian on the Isle of Portland.
Wiktionary
- n. A small freshwater fish in the carp family (Cyprinidae), Rutilus rutilus.
- n. US a cockroach.
- n. US, slang, smoking A butt of a marijuana cigarette.
- n. UK, slang, smoking The filter of a rolled cigarette or joint, made from card or paper.
- n. nautical An extra curve of material added to the leech edge of a sail to increase the sail area.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) A cockroach.
- n. A European fresh-water fish of the Carp family (Leuciscus rutilus). It is silver-white, with a greenish back.
- n. An American chub (Semotilus bullaris); the fallfish.
- n. The redfin, or shiner.
- n. (Naut.) A convex curve or arch cut in the edge of a sail to prevent chafing, or to secure a better fit.
- v. To cause to arch.
- v. To cut off, as a horse's mane, so that the part left shall stand upright.
WordNet 3.0
- v. cut the mane off (a horse)
- n. a roll of hair brushed back from the forehead
- n. street names for flunitrazepan
- n. European freshwater food fish having a greenish back
- n. any of numerous chiefly nocturnal insects; some are domestic pests
- v. comb (hair) into a roach
- n. the butt of a marijuana cigarette
Etymologies
- Middle English roche, from Old French roce, roche.Origin unknown. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“In fact, the roach is able to lift up its front legs again and walk.”
“And to think back to his comments about Michael Irvin's "what they call a roach" moment and the ribbing Greggo gave him is now laughable.”
“I accept the sneer with pleasure, as I would an honorary degree in roach control from the University of … well, Ockham.”
April « 2008 « poetry dispatch & other notes from the underground
“Hayate and Maria then arrive and sees Isumi who tells them the roach is gone.”
“The roach is taken aback by this determination and walks away.”
“Meanwhile, the giant roach is still pursuing Hayate and Maria.”
“The roach is about to attack Hayate when a shaking and scared Maria intervenes and stands between the roach and Hayate.”
“It has been scientifically proven that, among the favorite food of the roach is toe jam.”
“All this, from archy the roach, is of course humorous enough; but who that has been bedevilled by the St. Vitus of our ages does not honor the sincerity of the cry: --”
“Tribal armband wearing date rapists of the world rejoice, the aptly titled sixth album form Vacaville’s very own papa roach is here.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘roach’.
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fish list
lots and lots of fish, a piscatorial
wetdreamablet, agnathan, ahi, ahuru, ahuruhuru, albacore, albicore, alec, alewife, allice, allis, amberjack and 840 more...
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animals (1 syllable)
A list of common animal names. Keep the list to 1 syllable words.No scientific names. No proper names like 'Fluffy' the elephant.Insects and other creatures (even ficticious) are welcome!You can ...
dog, cat, bear, bee, ass, ape, horse, squid, bug, hare, hawk, pig and 138 more...
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PECH - marine species
African cuttlefish, Alaska plaice, Alaska pollock, Alaska pollack, walleye pollock, alewife, gaspereau, river herring, sawbelly, allis shad, American angler, goosefish and 994 more...
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phrontistery-r
from phrontistery.info
raad, rabanna, rabbet, rabble, Rabelaisian, rabic, racemation, raceme, racemiferous, rach, rachidian, rachiometer and 514 more...
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Farriery
"The art of shoeing horses; also, the art of treating the diseases of horses, now technically called veterinary surgery."
--Century Dictionaryfarriery, crapaudine, grease, interference, cloy, buttress, grape, grapes, farrier, horseshoe, fullering, calk and 27 more...
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Two for the price of one
Words that call to mind two different organisms: e.g., roach the insect and the fish; crow like a rooster. Words such as bullfrog where only part of the word refers to the second organism are exclu...
roach, crow, buck, monkey puzzle, pup, grunt, calf, crab, hens and chicks, loggerhead, tom, man-of-war and 8 more...
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Altered States Research Lab
Words and terms about (illicit) drugs and related subcultures.
reefer, golden brown, ganja, embalming fluid, shrooms, angel dust, bong, mescaline, handcuffs, padded cell, spliff, ecstasy and 79 more...
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conceptwriter's Words
sloth, jackass, dickhead, technostalgic, futuristic, enigma, impact, addict, nasty, premium, extraordinaire, yearning and 262 more...
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hairstyles
bun, bobtail, ponytail, cornrow, odango*, updo, bouffant, plait, braid, bunches, buzzcut, combover and 331 more...
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and Bristol fashion
being items related to boats, ships, sailing, nautical and naval lore &c.
sloop, frigate, brigantine, brig, grog, schooner, rig, sail, canvas, jib, forestay, cutter and 150 more...
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Folk entomology
Words for bugs 'n things. Mostly because I like the list name.
bug, beetle, creepy-crawly, skeeter, roach, water bug, palmetto bug
Tweets
Looking for tweets for roach.

ruzuzu I think it depends on which version of reincarnation you're into. Jan 19, 2012
jennarenn Huh? So by not killing the roaches, he was prolonging their stint as a roach? Jan 19, 2012
ruzuzu My mother used to date a Buddhist--she'd often complain about how he'd capture the roaches in his kitchen and bring them outside (instead of killing them). She used to laugh about coming back as a tick or a roach because she'd spent so many happy hours devising ways to kill them. Later I had a friend who was studying to be a yoga teacher--she told me one of the things they heard in their training was that teachers who make wrong actions are probably reincarnated as roaches. I think the idea was that killing roaches somehow helps them make their way out of darkness and back toward enlightenment.
Also see beetlestomper. Jan 19, 2012
jennarenn I saw a roach on my stove tonight, so I grabbed what I thought was a can of Raid. It turns out that Resolve also comes in red cans. So, I was chasing this roach around thinking, "DIE, ROACH, DIE", and it wouldn't die. So I finally killed it by sheer blunt force, but I doused our stove in carpet cleaner in the process. Bad day to be that roach. Jan 18, 2012
bilby When meaning roach fish is the plural also roach? May 19, 2010
bilby
I felt better when everything was in
disorder.
it will take me some months to get back to normal:
I can't even find a roach to commune with.
I have lost my rythm.
I can't sleep.
I can't eat.
I have been robbed of
my filth.
- Charles Bukowski, 'Metamorphosis'. Nov 26, 2008