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Glite Dictionary
to roared to life

to roared to life

2 5.1
A machine that starts suddenly and loudly when someone turns it on
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : cobrar vida
  • As I turned the key in the ignition, the car's engine roared to life, filling the quiet street with a powerful sound.
  • engine roared to life
  • car roared to life
  • motor roared to life

Examples

  • The engine roars to life.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The engine roared to life with the first turn of the ignition.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The engine roared to life a little too suddenly.

  • An engine roars to life.

    The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009)

  • Then the car's engine roars to life.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Salt turns the key and the engine roars to life.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Their outboard motor roars to life.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The pink Cadillac roared to life.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The ship's engine roars to life and the propeller spins through sand.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • But at 1:05 p.m. EDT, the Titan roared to life, and Mars Observer was on its way.

    Academic text (1992)

Synonyms

to roar
vsto roared to life
98 1.0

To make a loud deep continuous sound like an animal, crowd, or machine

happens as a sudden noisy start when a machine is switched on

Antonyms

to turn off
631 1.3

To stop a machine or device from working with a switch

to shut down
541 2.9

Stop a machine, business, or system from working

Surface Forms

roared to life infinitive
roared to life past
roared to life past participle
roaring to life present participle
roars to life third person singular

Morphology

roar + to + life

The phrase pairs 'roar' (make a loud, deep noise) with 'to life' (become alive), so a learner who knows the constituents can reasonably infer that something began operating suddenly and noisily — a common 'come to life' metaphor applied to machines. Because the sense relies on a metaphorical extension (machines are not literally alive), the meaning is predictable but not strictly compositional, making it only partially transparent.

Etymology

Roared to life comes from the image of an engine or a place making a sudden, loud noise when it begins. The word roared shows a deep, powerful sound and life means activity, so when something 'roars to life' it 'starts' quickly and noisily.