What does "roster" mean?

1. (a list of members) a list of people who belong to a specific group, like a sports team, a military unit, or a class of students. 2. (a work schedule) a plan that shows which people are working at which times. 3. (a list of set elements) a list of numbers or items written inside brackets to show what is in a set. 4. (to put on a list) to put someone's name on an official list or schedule.

How do you use "roster"?

Often used in the phrase 'roster notation'.

roster

n. · v.

US //ˈɹɑstɝ// UK //ɹˈɒstɐ// ros·ter

1 a list of members (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

a list of people who belong to a specific group, like a sports team, a military unit, or a class of students.

a list of individuals or groups enrolled in a particular organization, such as a sports team's active players or a military muster roll.

Example

The coach added two new players to the team roster before the big game.

Example

The university registrar updated the class roster to include students who had recently transferred from the evening programme.
2 a work schedule (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate British English

a plan that shows which people are working at which times.

a schedule or timetable specifying the shift times and assigned duties for each employee within a business.

Example

I need to check the work roster to see if I am working this Saturday.

Example

The hospital administrator revised the nursing roster to ensure adequate coverage during the holiday weekend.
- schedule
- timetable
- rota

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3 a list of set elements (n.)
C1 Advanced Technical Math

a list of numbers or items written inside brackets to show what is in a set.

a bracketed list that explicitly enumerates every element contained within a mathematical set.

Example

In math class, we wrote the set of even numbers as a roster.

Example

The student was asked to represent the set of prime numbers less than twenty using roster notation.

Usage

Often used in the phrase 'roster notation'.
- enumeration
4 to put on a list (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to put someone's name on an official list or schedule.

to place a person's name on a roster or to assign an individual to a specific shift or duty list.

Example

The manager will roster you for the morning shift next week.

Example

The department head decided to roster the senior engineers for the weekend maintenance window to ensure the system remained stable.
- remove
- delist

Origin

Borrowed from Dutch rooster (“gridiron, table, list”), from Middle Dutch roosten (“to roast”). More at roast.