roll Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun rotary motion of an object around its own axis
    axial motion; axial rotation.
    • wheels in axial rotation
  2. noun a list of names
    roster.
    • his name was struck off the rolls
  3. noun a long heavy sea wave as it advances towards the shore
    rolling wave; roller.
  4. noun photographic film rolled up inside a container to protect it from light
  5. noun a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals)
    gyre; ringlet; scroll; whorl; coil; curl; curlicue.
  6. noun a roll of currency notes (often taken as the resources of a person or business etc.)
    bankroll.
    • he shot his roll on a bob-tailed nag
  7. noun small rounded bread either plain or sweet
    bun.
  8. noun a deep prolonged sound (as of thunder or large bells)
    rolling; peal; pealing.
  9. noun the sound of a drum (especially a snare drum) beaten rapidly and continuously
    drum roll; paradiddle.
  10. noun a document that can be rolled up (as for storage)
    scroll.
  11. noun anything rolled up in cylindrical form
  12. noun the act of throwing dice
    cast.
  13. noun walking with a swaying gait
  14. noun a flight maneuver; aircraft rotates about its longitudinal axis without changing direction or losing altitude
  15. noun the act of rolling something (as the ball in bowling)
    bowl.
  16. verb move by turning over or rotating
    turn over.
    • The child rolled down the hill
    • turn over on your left side
  17. verb move along on or as if on wheels or a wheeled vehicle
    wheel.
    • The President's convoy rolled past the crowds
  18. verb occur in soft rounded shapes
    undulate.
    • The hills rolled past
  19. verb flatten or spread with a roller
    roll out.
    • roll out the paper
  20. verb emit, produce, or utter with a deep prolonged reverberating sound
    • The thunder rolled
    • rolling drums
  21. verb arrange or or coil around
    wrap; twine; wind.
    • roll your hair around your finger
    • Twine the thread around the spool
    • She wrapped her arms around the child
  22. verb begin operating or running
    • The cameras were rolling
    • The presses are already rolling
  23. verb shape by rolling
    • roll a cigarette
  24. verb execute a roll, in tumbling
    • The gymnasts rolled and jumped
  25. verb sell something to or obtain something from by energetic and especially underhanded activity
    pluck; hustle.
  26. verb move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
    wave; undulate; flap.
    • The curtains undulated
    • the waves rolled towards the beach
  27. verb move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
    ramble; stray; cast; swan; drift; wander; tramp; range; rove; roam; vagabond.
    • The gypsies roamed the woods
    • roving vagabonds
    • the wandering Jew
    • The cattle roam across the prairie
    • the laborers drift from one town to the next
    • They rolled from town to town
  28. verb move, rock, or sway from side to side
    • The ship rolled on the heavy seas
  29. verb cause to move by turning over or in a circular manner of as if on an axis
    revolve.
    • She rolled the ball
    • They rolled their eyes at his words
  30. verb pronounce with a roll, of the phoneme /r/
    • She rolls her r's
  31. verb boil vigorously
    seethe.
    • The liquid was seething
    • The water rolled
  32. verb take the shape of a roll or cylinder
    • the carpet rolled out
    • Yarn rolls well
  33. verb show certain properties when being rolled
    roll up.
    • The carpet rolls unevenly
    • dried-out tobacco rolls badly

WordNet

Roll transitive verb
Etymology
OF. roeler, roler, F. rouler, LL. rotulare, fr. L. royulus, rotula, a little wheel, dim. of rota wheel; akin to G. rad, and to Skr. ratha car, chariot. Cf. Control, Roll, n., Rotary.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Rolled ; present participle & verbal noun Rolling
Definitions
  1. To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface; as, to roll a wheel, a ball, or a barrel.
  2. To wrap round on itself; to form into a spherical or cylindrical body by causing to turn over and over; as, to roll a sheet of paper; to roll parchment; to roll clay or putty into a ball.
  3. To bind or involve by winding, as in a bandage; to inwrap; -- often with up; as, to roll up a parcel.
  4. To drive or impel forward with an easy motion, as of rolling; as, a river rolls its waters to the ocean.
    The flood of Catholic reaction was rolled over Europe. J. A. Symonds.
  5. To utter copiously, esp. with sounding words; to utter with a deep sound; -- often with forth, or out; as, to roll forth some one's praises; to roll out sentences.
    Who roll'd the psalm to wintry skies. Tennyson.
  6. To press or level with a roller; to spread or form with a roll, roller, or rollers; as, to roll a field; to roll paste; to roll steel rails, etc.
  7. To move, or cause to be moved, upon, or by means of, rollers or small wheels.
  8. To beat with rapid, continuous strokes, as a drum; to sound a roll upon.
  9. (Geom.) To apply (one line or surface) to another without slipping; to bring all the parts of (one line or surface) into successive contact with another, in suck manner that at every instant the parts that have been in contact are equal.
  10. To turn over in one's mind; to revolve.
    Full oft in heart he rolleth up and down The beauty of these florins new and bright. Chaucer.
    11. To rob, usu. a person unable to resist, as an unconscious, drunk, or sleeping person, by removing valuables on his person; as, to roll a drunk.
Roll intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To move, as a curved object may, along a surface by rotation without sliding; to revolve upon an axis; to turn over and over; as, a ball or wheel rolls on the earth; a body rolls on an inclined plane.
    And her foot, look you, is fixed upon a spherical stone, which rolls, and rolls, and rolls. Shak.
  2. To move on wheels; as, the carriage rolls along the street. "The rolling chair." Dryden.
  3. To be wound or formed into a cylinder or ball; as, the cloth rolls unevenly; the snow rolls well.
  4. To fall or tumble; -- with over; as, a stream rolls over a precipice.
  5. To perform a periodical revolution; to move onward as with a revolution; as, the rolling year; ages roll away.
  6. To turn; to move circularly.
    And his red eyeballs roll with living fire. Dryden.
  7. To move, as waves or billows, with alternate swell and depression.
    What different sorrows did within thee roll. Prior.
  8. To incline first to one side, then to the other; to rock; as, there is a great difference in ships about rolling; in a general semse, to be tossed about.
    Twice ten tempestuous nights I rolled. Pope.
  9. To turn over, or from side to side, while lying down; to wallow; as, a horse rolls.
  10. To spread under a roller or rolling-pin; as, the paste rolls well.
  11. To beat a drum with strokes so rapid that they can scarcely be distinguished by the ear.
  12. To make a loud or heavy rumbling noise; as, the thunder rolls.
    Man shall not suffer his wife go roll about. Chaucer.
Roll noun
Etymology
F. rôle a roll (in sense 3), fr. L. rotulus little wheel, LL., a roll, dim. of L. rota a wheel. See Roll, v., and cf. Rôle, Rouleau, Roulette.
Definitions
  1. The act of rolling, or state of being rolled; as, the roll of a ball; the roll of waves.
  2. That which rolls; a roller. Specifically: (a) A heavy cylinder used to break clods. Mortimer. (b) One of a set of revolving cylinders, or rollers, between which metal is pressed, formed, or smoothed, as in a rolling mill; as, to pass rails through the rolls.
  3. That which is rolled up; as, a roll of fat, of wool, paper, cloth, etc. Specifically: (a) A document written on a piece of parchment, paper, or other materials which may be rolled up; a scroll.
    Busy angels spread The lasting roll, recording what we say. Prior.
    (b) Hence, an official or public document; a register; a record; also, a catalogue; a list.
    The rolls of Parliament, the entry of the petitions, answers, and transactions in Parliament, are extant. Sir M. Hale.
    The roll and list of that army doth remain. Sir J. Davies.
    (c) A quantity of cloth wound into a cylindrical form; as, a roll of carpeting; a roll of ribbon. (d) A cylindrical twist of tobacco.
  4. A kind of shortened raised biscuit or bread, often rolled or doubled upon itself.
  5. (Naut.) The oscillating movement of a vessel from side to side, in sea way, as distinguished from the alternate rise and fall of bow and stern called pitching.
  6. A heavy, reverberatory sound; as, the roll of cannon, or of thunder.
  7. The uniform beating of a drum with strokes so rapid as scarcely to be distinguished by the ear.
  8. Part; office; duty; rôle. Obs. L'Estrange. Syn. -- List; schedule; catalogue; register; inventory. See List.

Webster 1913