roe

UK: /ˈrəʊ/ US: /roʊ/ ,(rō)

Inflections of 'roe' (n):

roe

np (Uncountable sense(s): no inflections)

roes

npl (For the deer)

roe

npl (Can be used as a collective plural for the deer)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

roe¹ /roʊ/   n. [uncountable]

1. Fish the mass of eggs or of sperm in the bodies of certain fish, eaten as food:
   Caviar is made of sturgeon roe.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

roe¹  (rō), n. 

1. Fish the mass of eggs, or spawn, within the ovarian membrane of the female fish.
2. Fish the milt or sperm of the male fish.
3. Invertebrates the eggs of any of various crustaceans, as the coral of the lobster.

• 1400–50; late Middle English rowe; cognate with Old High German rogo

roe²  (rō), n., pl. roes, (esp. collectively) roe. 

1. Mammals See roe deer. 

• bef. 900; Middle English roo, Old English rā, rāha; cognate with German Reh

ROE, [Accountableing.]

1. Business return on equity.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

roe / rəʊ/ noun

1. Also called: hard roe the ovary of a female fish filled with mature eggs
2. Also called: soft roe the testis of a male fish filled with mature sperm

Etymology: 15th Century: from Middle Dutch roge, from Old High German roga; related to Old Norse hrogn

roe / rəʊ/ noun (roes, roe)

1. short for roe deer

Etymology: Old English rā(ha), related to Old High German rēh(o), Old Norse rā

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Roe / rəʊ/ noun

1. Richard Roe ⇒ (formerly) the defendant in a fictitious action, Doe versus Roe, to test a point of law
   See also Doe1