Meaning & use
roaring back
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Returning very suddenly and with great strength after a period of weakness, decline, or absence.
Grammar: Used after 'come', 'be', or 'go': the team came roaring back; the market is roaring back.
Patterns
- come roaring back
- be roaring back
- roaring back into something
- roaring back from something
After two poor seasons, the club came roaring back and won the title.
Demand for vinyl records is roaring back among younger listeners.
The singer is roaring back with a new album after five years away.
phrasefixed phrase
Making a very loud, deep sound again, as a large animal or engine does.
Grammar: Usually follows 'come' or 'be' and describes sound, not success: the engine came roaring back to life.
Patterns
- come roaring back to life
- be roaring back
The old engine coughed once and then came roaring back to life.
From the cave, the lion's call came roaring back off the walls.
Common combinations
- come roaring back
- Ticket sales came roaring back once the new film was announced.
- roaring back to life
- After the lockdown, the city's nightlife came roaring back to life.
- roaring back into profit
- The airline is roaring back into profit this year.
- roaring back from defeat
- The party came roaring back from a heavy defeat in the last election.
- roaring back with a vengeance
- Online sales are roaring back with a vengeance this season.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bouncing back
- Neutral and calmer; it simply means recovering, while 'roaring back' stresses speed and force.
- rebounding
- Common in business and sport writing and more formal; it does not suggest noise or drama.
- surging back
- Close in meaning, but 'surging' suggests a steady powerful rise rather than a loud, dramatic return.
Opposites
Word family
- roar verb
- to make a long, very loud sound, or to say something loudly and angrily.
- roar noun
- a long, loud, deep sound made by an animal, engine, or crowd.
- roaring adjective
- making a continuous loud deep noise; also used for very great success, as in 'a roaring trade'.
- back adverb
- toward an earlier place, state, or condition, as in 'come back'.
Commonly confused: roaring back or rowing back? roaring back or roaring?
roaring back vs rowing back
'Rowing back' means changing or weakening an earlier statement or promise, and has nothing to do with a loud return.
roaring back vs roaring
'Roaring' alone just describes a loud sound; 'roaring back' adds the idea of returning or recovering.
Practice
After a terrible first half, the home team ______ and scored three goals.
Choose one answer.
'Came roaring back' is the standard pattern: a verb of movement plus the fixed phrase, meaning they returned to form suddenly. 'Was roaring back' is grammatical but describes something in progress rather than a completed turnaround, and 'roaring back' alone cannot be the main verb of the sentence.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “roaring back”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.