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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

roach.

Certain members of the fish family Cyprinidae, including:

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ɹəʊtʃ/Received-Pronunciation/ɹoʊt͡ʃ/US
  1. Certain members of the fish family Cyprinidae, including: Any fish of species in the genus Rutilus, especially

  2. Certain members of the fish family Cyprinidae, including: Any fish of species in the genus Rutilus, especially: A common roach (Rutilus rutilus).

  3. Certain members of the fish family Cyprinidae, including: Any member of the genus Hesperoleucus of California roaches.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English roche, from Old French roche, from Middle Low German roche, ruche (“ray (fish)”), from Old Saxon *rūh, possibly from Proto-Germanic *rūhaz (“rough”). Cognate with Old English ruhha ("a ray"; > Middle English rouhe, rohȝe), German Rochen (“ray (fish)”).

noun/ɹəʊtʃ/Received-Pronunciation/ɹoʊt͡ʃ/US
  1. Synonym of cockroach (“type of insect”).

    US
  2. Synonym of cockroach (“as a term of abuse”).

    derogatory · slang
  3. The butt of a marijuana cigarette.

    US · slang
  4. An entire marijuana cigarette, blunt, or joint.

    US · slang
  5. The filter of a rolled cigarette or joint, made from card or paper (often of the cigarette paper packet itself).

    UK · slang
Where this word comes from

Back-formation from cockroach, as if it were a compound. Marijuana-related meanings by similarity of appearance of the butt, attested since the 1930s.

verb/ɹəʊtʃ/Received-Pronunciation/ɹoʊt͡ʃ/US
  1. Synonym of roach out.

Where this word comes from

Back-formation from cockroach, as if it were a compound. Marijuana-related meanings by similarity of appearance of the butt, attested since the 1930s.

noun/ɹəʊtʃ/Received-Pronunciation/ɹoʊt͡ʃ/US
  1. Sail material that forms a concave curve rather than straight leech (aft edge) of a sail to increase the sail area over that of a simple triangular sail.

  2. A haircut or a similar-looking kind of headdress worn by some of the indigenous peoples of North America, often red.

Where this word comes from

Apparently from extended or figurative use of roach (“Cyprinidae”), above. Compare the adjective roached (“styled so that the mane stands up from the neck”).

verb/ɹəʊtʃ/Received-Pronunciation/ɹoʊt͡ʃ/US
  1. To cut or shave off the mane of a horse so that the remaining hair stands up on the neck.

    transitive
  2. To cut a person's hair so that it stands straight up.

    broadly · transitive
Where this word comes from

Apparently from extended or figurative use of roach (“Cyprinidae”), above. Compare the adjective roached (“styled so that the mane stands up from the neck”).

noun/ɹəʊtʃ/Received-Pronunciation/ɹoʊt͡ʃ/US
  1. A bed or stratum of some mineral.

    UK · obsolete
  2. Gritty or coarse rock; especially Portland stone or similar limestone.

    UK · regional
Where this word comes from

Variant of roche (“rock”). Attested since the seventeenth century.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.