roll (rəʊl
)
Definitions
verb
- to move or cause to move along by turning over and over
- to move or cause to move along on wheels or rollers
- to flow or cause to flow onwards in an undulating movement ⇒
billows of smoke rolled over the ground
- (intr) (of animals, etc) to turn onto the back and kick ⇒
the hills roll down to the sea
- (intr) to extend in undulations ⇒
the hills roll down to the sea
- (intr) around to move or occur in cycles
- (intr) (of a planet, the moon, etc) to revolve in an orbit
- (intr; foll by on, by, etc) to pass or elapse ⇒
the years roll by
- to rotate or cause to rotate wholly or partially ⇒
to roll one's eyes
- to curl, cause to curl, or admit of being curled, so as to form a ball, tube, or cylinder; coil
- to make or form by shaping into a ball, tube, or cylinder ⇒
to roll a cigarette
- (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 emit, produce, or utter with a deep prolonged reverberating sound ⇒
the thunder rolled continuously
- to trill or cause to be trilled ⇒
to roll one's r's
- (intr) (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)
- (intr) to walk with a swaying gait, as when drunk; sway
- (intr) over (of an animal, esp a dog) to lie on its back and wriggle while kicking its legs in the air, without moving along
- (intr) to wallow or envelop oneself (in)
- (tr) to apply ink to (type, etc) with a roller or rollers
- to throw (dice)
- (intr) to operate or begin to operate ⇒
the presses rolled
- (intr) informal to make progress; move or go ahead ⇒
let the good times roll
- (tr) informal mainly US New Zealand to rob (a helpless person, such as someone drunk or asleep)
- (tr) slang to have sexual intercourse or foreplay with (a person)
- See start the ball rolling
noun
- the act or an instance of rolling
- anything rolled up in a cylindrical form ⇒
a roll of newspaper
- an official list or register, esp of names ⇒
an electoral roll
- a rounded mass ⇒
rolls of flesh
- a strip of material, esp leather, fitted with pockets or pouches for holding tools, toilet articles, needles and thread, etc
- a cylinder used to flatten something; roller
- a small loaf of bread for one person: eaten plain, with butter, or as a light meal when filled with meat, cheese, etc
- a flat pastry or cake rolled up with a meat (sausage roll), jam (jam roll), or other filling See also swiss roll
- a swell, ripple, or undulation on a surface ⇒
the roll of the hills
- 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 flight manoeuvre in which an aircraft makes one complete rotation about its longitudinal axis without loss of height or change in direction
- the angular displacement of a vessel, rocket, missile, etc, caused by rolling
- a throw of dice
- a bookbinder's tool having a brass wheel, used to impress a line or repeated pattern on the cover of a book
- 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
- See on a roll
- See strike off the roll
Word Origin
C14 rollen , from Old French roler , from Latin rotulus a little wheel, from rota a wheel
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
=
turn,
wheel,
spin,
reel,
go round,
revolve,
rotate,
whirl,
swivel,
pivot,
twirl,
gyrate,
=
wind,
bind,
wrap,
twist,
curl,
coil,
swathe,
envelop,
entwine,
furl,
enfold,
=
toss,
rock,
lurch,
reel,
tumble,
sway,
wallow,
billow,
swing,
welter,
=
register,
record,
list,
table,
schedule,
index,
catalogue,
directory,
inventory,
census,
chronicle,
scroll,
roster,
annals,
=
turn,
run,
spin,
rotation,
cycle,
wheel,
revolution,
reel,
whirl,
twirl,
undulation,
gyration,
