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[rohl] /roʊl/
verb (used without object)
to extend in undulations, as land.
as soon as summer rolls round again.
to trill, as a bird.
  1. to rock from side to side in open water.
  2. to sail with a side-to-side rocking motion.
to walk with a swinging or swaying gait.
Let's roll at sunrise.
Informal. to go forward or advance without restrictions or impediments:
The economy is finally beginning to roll.
to curl up so as to form a tube or cylinder.
to spread out as under a roller:
The paint rolls easily.
verb (used with object)
The wind rolled the waves high on the beach.
rolling his orotund phrases.
to trill:
to roll one's r's.
to cause to revolve or turn over or over and over:
to roll oneself on one's face.
to roll string.
to make by forming a tube or cylinder:
to roll a cigarette.
He rolled the map out on the table.
to roll a child in a blanket.
to roll dough; to roll a tennis court.
to form (metal) in a rolling mill.
to beat (a drum) with rapid, continuous strokes.
anything rolled up in a ringlike or cylindrical form:
a roll of wire.
a number of papers or other items rolled up together.
a cylindrical or rounded mass of something:
rolls of fat.
some article of cylindrical or rounded form, as a molding.
  1. thin cake spread with jelly or the like and rolled up.
  2. a small cake of bread, originally and still often rolled or doubled on itself before baking.
  3. meat rolled up and cooked.
the act or process or an instance of rolling.
undulation, as of a surface:
the roll of a prairie.
a sonorous or rhythmical flow of words.
a deep, prolonged sound, as of thunder:
the deep roll of a breaking wave.
the trill of certain birds, especially of the roller canary.
the continuous sound of a drum rapidly beaten.
a rolling motion, as of a ship.
a rolling or swaying gait.
  2. (of an aircraft or rocket) the act of rolling.
  3. the angular displacement caused by rolling.
  1. paper currency carried folded or rolled up:
  2. bankroll; funds:
    People were encouraged to shoot their rolls on mining speculation.
  1. a single cast of or turn at casting the dice.
  2. the total number of pips or points made by a single cast; score or point.
Verb phrases
roll in, Informal.
  1. to luxuriate in; abound in:
    rolling in money.
  2. to go to bed; retire:
    They would roll in later and later every night.
  4. to add:
    Labor wants to roll in periodic increases with their wage demands.
  5. to arrive, especially in large numbers or quantity:
    When do my dividends start rolling in?
roll out,
  1. to spread out or flatten:
    to roll out dough.
  2. Informal. to arise from bed; get up:
  3. Football. to execute a rollout.
  4. Informal. to introduce; unveil:
    a TV advertising campaign to roll out the new car.
roll over,
  2. to overturn:
  3. to turn over:
roll up,
  1. to accumulate; collect:
    to roll up a large vote.
  2. to increase.
  3. to arrive in a conveyance:
on a roll,
  1. (in a gambling game) having a continuing winning streak.
  2. enjoying continuing good luck or success:
He rolled his eyes when he heard the stupid joke.
roll with the punches. punch1 (def 16).
Origin of roll
Related forms
rollable, adjective
reroll, verb
unrollable, adjective
well-rolled, adjective
Can be confused
role, roll.
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Examples from the Web for roll
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples
  • He laid a roll of type-written documents on the table and rose.

    A Speckled Bird Augusta J. Evans Wilson
  • It took but a moment for him to find the shell, for he had seen it roll from the other's hand.

    A Prisoner of Morro Upton Sinclair
  • Somebody give him a push, please, and get him to roll his hoop.

    Endurance Test Alan Douglas
  • Her hands, which held the roll of parchment, dropped down upon her lap.

    "Unto Caesar" Baroness Emmuska Orczy
  • Presently the supposed Indian drew from his belt a pouch of tobacco and some cigarette papers, and proceeded to roll a cigarette.

    Ted Strong in Montana Edward C. Taylor
British Dictionary definitions for roll


to move or cause to move along by turning over and over
to move or cause to move along on wheels or rollers
(intransitive) to extend in undulations: the hills roll down to the sea
(intransitive) usually foll by around. to move or occur in cycles
(intransitive) (of a planet, the moon, etc) to revolve in an orbit
(intransitive; foll by on, by, etc) to pass or elapse: the years roll by
(often foll by out) to spread or cause to spread out flat or smooth under or as if under a roller: to roll the lawn, to roll pastry
to trill or cause to be trilled: to roll one's r's
(intransitive) (of a vessel, aircraft, rocket, etc) to turn from side to side around the longitudinal axis Compare pitch1 (sense 11), yaw (sense 1)
to cause (an aircraft) to execute a roll or (of an aircraft) to execute a roll (sense 40) (of an aircraft) to execute or cause an aircraft to execute a roll (sense 41)
(intransitive) to walk with a swaying gait, as when drunk; sway
(intransitive) often foll by over. (of an animal, esp a dog) to lie on its back and wriggle while kicking its legs in the air, without moving along
(intransitive) to wallow or envelop oneself (in)
(transitive) to apply ink to (type, etc) with a roller or rollers
to throw (dice)
(intransitive) to operate or begin to operate: the presses rolled
(intransitive) (informal) to make progress; move or go ahead: let the good times roll
(transitive) (informal, mainly US & NZ) to rob (a helpless person, such as someone drunk or asleep)
(transitive) (slang) to have sexual intercourse or foreplay with (a person)
start the ball rolling, set the ball rolling, to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)
the act or an instance of rolling
anything rolled up in a cylindrical form: a roll of newspaper
a rounded mass: rolls of flesh
a cylinder used to flatten something; roller
a flat pastry or cake rolled up with a meat (sausage roll), jam (jam roll), or other filling See also swiss roll
a swaying, rolling, or unsteady movement or gait
a deep prolonged reverberating sound: the roll of thunder
a rhythmic cadenced flow of words
a trilling sound; trill
a very rapid beating of the sticks on a drum
a throw of dice
(slang) an act of sexual intercourse or petting (esp in the phrase a roll in the hay)
(US, slang) an amount of money, esp a wad of paper money
(slang) on a roll, experiencing continued good luck or success
strike off the roll, strike off the rolls
  1. to expel from membership
  2. to debar (a solicitor) from practising, usually because of dishonesty
Word Origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for roll

early 13c., "rolled-up piece of parchment or paper" (especially one inscribed with an official record), from Old French rolle "document, parchment scroll, decree" (12c.), from Medieval Latin rotulus "a roll of paper" (source also of Spanish rollo, Italian ruollo), from Latin rotula "small wheel," diminutive of rota "wheel" (see rotary).

Meaning "a register, list, catalogue" is from late 14c., common from c.1800. Meaning "dough which is rolled before baking" is first recorded mid-15c. Sense of "act of rolling" is from 1743. Meaning "quantity of material rolled up" is from late 14c.; meaning "quantity of paper money" is from 1846; sense of "quantity of (rolled) film" is from 1890. Meaning "act of sexual intercourse" is attested from 1942 (roll in the hay), from roll (v.). Dutch rol, German Rolle, Danish rulle, etc. are from French.


c.1300 "turn over and over, move by rotating" (intransitive); late 14c. as "to move (something) by turning it over and over;" from Old French roeller "roll, wheel round" (Modern French rouler), from Medieval Latin rotulare, from Latin rotula, diminutive of rota "wheel" (see rotary). Related: Rolled; rolling.

Of sounds (e.g. thunder) somehow suggestive of a rolling ball, 1590s; of a drum from 1680s. Of eyes, from late 14c. Of a movie camera, "to start filming," from 1938. Sense of "rob a stuporous drunk" is from 1873, from the action required to get to his pockets. To roll up "gather, congregate" is from 1861, originally Australian. To be on a roll is from 1976. To roll with the punches is a metaphor from boxing (1940). Heads will roll is a Hitlerism:


Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang definitions & phrases for roll



  1. Money; funds; bankroll (1846+)
  2. The sex act; a ROLL IN THE HAY (1940s+)


  1. To rob, esp a stuporous or helpless drunkard who is literally rolled over for access to pockets: rolling a stiff/ the less perilous profession of rolling lushes (1873+)
  2. To displace another worker: Negro firemen on the good runs should be ''rolled'' by whites (1950s+ Railroad)
  3. To run or start a movie camera: Quiet, and roll 'em (1939+ Movie studio)

Related Terms

jackroll, jelly-roll, log roll, michigan roll, on a roll, press roll, rock

Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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roll in the Bible


Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms and Phrases with roll
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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