A Lion's Roar Carries for Eight Kilometres
To roar is to make a deep loud sound. Only four cat species can truly do it.
To roar is to make a deep, loud, prolonged sound. Only four cats can do it properly — lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar — and the reason is anatomical: their hyoid bone is partly cartilage rather than fully ossified, letting the larynx drop and the vocal folds stretch. Cats with a fully bony hyoid, including the cheetah and the domestic cat, purr instead but cannot roar. A lion's roar reaches about 114 decibels and carries up to eight kilometres.
- A deep loud sound. *The lion's roar.*
- To shout. *Roaring with laughter.*
- A loud noise. *The roar of traffic.*
- Roaring — thriving. *A roaring trade.*
- Old English — *rarian*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | roar | Roaring. |
| Noun | roar | A roar. |
| Past | roared | Roared. |
| Adjective | roaring | A roaring fire. |
| Old English | rarian | To roar. |
- The lion roared.Animal.
- The crowd roared.People.
- A roaring trade.Idiom.
Roaring cats and purring cats
- Lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar — can roar, cannot purr continuously
- Cheetah, cougar, domestic cat — purr, cannot roar
- The hyoid bone decides which: cartilage allows roaring
- Snow leopards sit oddly between the two groups
- A lion's roar reaches about 114 decibels
Old English *rarian*, of Germanic origin, probably imitative.
Which cats can roar?
Lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars. Their partly cartilaginous hyoid bone lets the larynx stretch in a way other cats cannot manage.
Can a lion purr?
Not in the continuous way a domestic cat does. The same anatomy that allows roaring prevents sustained purring.