# roll

Pronunciation: say "ROHL" US /ɹoʊl/, UK /ɹəʊl/

## Verb

1. To turn over and over on an axis, or to move forward by turning on a supporting surface.
   - Simple: To turn over and over, or to move along by turning on a surface.
   - _Logs roll easily down the slope when given a push._
   - _She rolled the barrel across the yard toward the shed._
2. To move from place to place by means of wheels or rollers underneath.
   - Simple: To move along on wheels or rollers.
   - _The suitcase rolled behind her through the airport._
   - _Freight cars roll down the gentle grade into the yard._
4. To wrap something around on itself, or to shape it into a ball or cylinder by turning it over and over.
   - Simple: To wrap something around itself, or shape it into a ball or tube.
   - _She rolled the yoga mat and tucked it under her arm._
   - _Workers roll the steel sheets into large coils._
7. To throw dice so that they produce a particular number, pattern, or total.
   - Simple: To throw dice and get a certain number or pattern.
   - _He rolled double sixes and cleared the board._
   - _If you roll badly in the opening, recovery is difficult._
8. To move or flow steadily onward with a wave-like motion.
   - Simple: To move forward in a smooth, wave-like flow.
   - _The crowd rolled toward the stadium gates in a steady wave._
   - _Storm clouds roll in from the sea every afternoon._
10. To press, smooth, level, or shape something using a roller or rollers.
   - Simple: To press or flatten something using a round tool that turns.
   - _Bakers roll the pastry into thin, even sheets._
   - _The crew rolled the fresh asphalt to make the road smooth._
13. To bind or wrap something by winding a covering around it, often with up.
   - Simple: To wrap something up by winding a covering around it.
   - _Before packing the tent, he rolled the poles up inside the groundsheet and tied the bundle with string._
   - _Before moving day, we roll each glass up in newspaper so nothing breaks._
14. To begin filming, or to cause a camera to start recording.
   - Simple: To start a camera filming, or to begin filming.
   - _Action was called the moment the cameras began to roll._
   - _The operator rolled film as the actors took their places._
22. To set off or begin a journey, sometimes with out. *(colloquial, Canada, US)*
   - Simple: To leave or start moving on a trip.
   - _We should roll soon if we want to arrive before dark._
   - _The convoy rolled out just after sunrise._
16. To rotate about the front-to-back axis, so that a vessel's or aircraft's sides rise and fall.
   - Simple: To tip from side to side around a line running front to back.
   - _The ship rolled heavily in the storm swell._
   - _Aircraft roll when the pilot moves the control stick sideways._
17. To behave or handle situations in a particular, characteristic way. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: To act or deal with things in your own usual way.
   - _We don't do long meetings here; that's not how we roll._
   - _She rolls with whatever the day brings._
24. To tumble head over heels, as in gymnastics; to perform a somersault.
   - Simple: To tip head over heels along the ground.
   - _Acrobats roll across the stage in a flowing sequence._
   - _He rolled backward and rose into a handstand._
25. To make a loud, heavy, continuous rumbling sound.
   - Simple: To make a long, deep rumbling sound.
   - _Thunder rolled in the distance as the storm approached._
   - _The great drums roll at the climax of the symphony._
27. To beat a drum with rapid, continuous strokes, producing a sustained sound.
   - Simple: To play a drum with fast, repeated hits to make a long, smooth sound.
   - _Drummers roll their snares to build tension before the chorus._
   - _She rolled the timpani softly beneath the melody._
29. To rob someone, especially a drunk, sleeping, or helpless person, often using force.
   - Simple: To rob someone who is drunk, asleep, or unable to fight back, often by hurting them.
   - _Three men rolled the stranger outside the station._
   - _Be careful. They roll anyone who wanders in alone._
30. To pronounce a sound, especially r, with a vibrating trill of the tongue.
   - Simple: To say a sound, such as the letter r, with a fast shaking of the tongue.
   - _He rolls his r's beautifully when speaking Italian._
   - _She practiced in the car every morning until she could finally roll her r's._
31. To create a customized or homemade version of something rather than using a standard one.
   - Simple: To make your own special version of something instead of using a ready-made one.
   - _The developers rolled their own encryption library._
   - _Rather than license a tool, the team chose to roll a custom solution._
32. To turn an idea over in your mind, considering it thoroughly.
   - Simple: To think about something carefully, turning it over again and again.
   - _He rolled the question over in his mind for days._
   - _They roll new plans around before committing to any of them._
19. To be feeling the effects of MDMA, the psychedelic stimulant drug also called ecstasy. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To be feeling the effects of MDMA, a drug also called ecstasy.
   - _Judging by his dilated pupils and clenched jaw, he had clearly been rolling on molly all night._
   - _He swore he would never roll again after the comedown left him miserable for three days._
20. To look like a series of long waves, rising and falling one after another, as hills and open country do.
   - Simple: To rise and fall in long waves, like hills across open country.
   - _East of the river, the prairie rolls in long, grassy swells toward the horizon._
   - _Low hills roll on for miles past the last town, dotted with sheep and stone walls._

## Noun

3. A small portion of bread, baked in a rounded shape, often folded or rolled upon itself before baking.
   - Simple: A small round piece of baked bread for one person.
   - _He filled a soft roll with ham and cheese._
   - _The basket on the table held an assortment of dinner rolls._
5. A catalog or list of names, especially one kept for official record-keeping.
   - Simple: An official list of names or things.
   - _The officer called each name on the roll in turn._
   - _Officials struck several names from the roll after the review._
6. A throw of one or more dice, or the total produced by the throw.
   - Simple: A throw of one or more dice, or the total it gives.
   - _A single roll of the dice decided the entire game._
   - _Players needed a roll of seven to advance their pieces._
9. The action or result of rolling, or the state of having been rolled.
   - Simple: The action of turning over and over, or being turned that way.
   - _The roll of the barrel down the ramp was slow and steady._
   - _After one slow roll across the green, the ball dropped neatly into the cup._
11. A quantity of flexible material, such as cloth, paper, film, tape or tobacco, wound or twisted into a cylinder.
   - Simple: A long piece of something like cloth, paper, tape or tobacco, rolled up into a tube shape.
   - _The tailor unwound a roll of silk across the cutting table._
   - _Several rolls of canvas were stored in the back room._
12. A continuing streak of success or good luck, as in sport, gambling, or any undertaking.
   - Simple: A time when you keep succeeding or having good luck, again and again.
   - _The team was on a roll, winning five games straight._
   - _Once a gambler is on a roll, it is hard to walk away from the table._
21. A forward or backward tumble in gymnastics, turning head over heels along the ground.
   - Simple: A move where you tip head over heels along the ground.
   - _The coach demonstrated a smooth forward roll for the beginners._
   - _He linked two backward rolls into one continuous movement._
15. The side-to-side rocking of a vessel as it rotates about its fore-and-aft axis, distinct from the rise and fall of bow and stern called pitching.
   - Simple: The side-to-side tipping movement of a ship or plane.
   - _The ship's roll grew violent as the swell increased._
   - _Engineers fitted fins to reduce the vessel's roll._
23. A steady drumming made with strokes so rapid the ear can barely separate them.
   - Simple: A fast, even drumming sound made by hitting a drum very quickly.
   - _A drum roll built slowly before the cymbals crashed._
   - _The snare player practiced a clean roll for hours._
26. A heavy, echoing, sustained sound, such as that of thunder or drums.
   - Simple: A deep, echoing rumble of sound.
   - _A distant roll of thunder warned of the coming storm._
   - _All night the soldiers listened to the roll of artillery beyond the hills._
28. A document written on parchment or paper that can be wound into a scroll.
   - Simple: A piece of paper or parchment with writing on it that can be rolled up.
   - _The scholar carefully unwound the ancient roll to read the faded Latin text._
   - _An old roll of vellum recorded the abbey's early history._
18. An object that rolls, turning over and over or revolving on an axis.
   - Simple: An object that rolls, turning over and over like a wheel.
   - _A dented roll on the old printing press left a faint streak across every page._
   - _Packages glide down the warehouse line on a bed of steel rolls that turn freely under their weight._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To pour out words freely, especially grand or resonant ones, or to say something in a deep, booming voice, often with out or forth.
- (verb) To walk around in a relaxed, unhurried way.
- (verb) In geometry, to move one curve or surface along another so that they touch point by point without slipping.
- (verb) In tabletop or video role-playing games, to make up a fresh character, with dice often deciding its abilities.
- (verb) To produce a random number, as if by throwing dice.
- (verb) To shift the bits of a value so that any bit pushed off one end reappears at the other, a circular shift.
- (verb) To make a voyage under sail.
- (verb) To turn informer or give evidence for the prosecution, or to get someone else to do so.
- (verb) To get past a defender while keeping the ball, typically by turning around them.
- (verb) To cover a house, trees, yard or other target with streamers of toilet paper, for a joke or to celebrate.
- (verb) To have a live practice match with a training partner in a ground-fighting art such as jiu-jitsu.
- (verb) To bump cargo from the ship it was booked on onto a later or different one.
- (verb) To play the notes of a chord quickly one after another, usually from the bottom up.
- (noun) A heavy roller dragged over a field to crush lumps of soil.
- (noun) One of the paired rotating cylinders in a mill that squeeze and shape metal passed between them.
- (noun) A swaggering or swaying way of walking.
- (noun) How far a ship tilts from side to side as it rocks.
- (noun) How far an aircraft or vehicle is turned around the axis running from nose to tail, measured as an angle.
- (noun) A maneuver in which an aircraft turns one or more full circles around its lengthwise axis.
- (noun) A practice bout for a dog trained to fight.
- (noun) A move that turns an overturned kayak or canoe upright while the paddler stays in the boat, with no help.
- (noun) The ability to flip an upturned kayak or canoe upright on one's own without leaving the boat.
- (noun) A financial trade or product made of offsetting positions with different expiry dates, used to move a holding to a different date.
- (noun) A circular shift of the bits in a value, in which a bit leaving one end comes back in at the other.
- (noun) A formal written record kept by an authority, such as the rolls of parliament.
- (noun) The function or position someone holds, an old form of role.
- (noun) A unit for counting parchment, equal to sixty skins.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 4, 6–10, 12–27, 29–32** — From Middle English "rollen," partly from Old French "roller" (also "roler," "röeler"), from Medieval Latin "rotulāre" ("to roll, to revolve"). This came from Latin "rotula" ("a little wheel"), a diminutive of "rota" ("a wheel"); it also came partly from Anglo-Latin "rollāre," from the same ultimate source.
**Meanings 3, 5, 11, 28** — Medieval Latin rotulus meant "a roll, list, catalog, schedule, record" or a rolled-up paper or parchment. It passed into Old French as rolle (also role, roule) and then into Middle English as rolle, so it is a doublet both of role and of rotulus.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/roll (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).