I. ˈrōl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English rolle, from Old French rolle, role, from Latin rotulus, rotula little wheel, diminutive of rota wheel; akin to Old Frisian reth wheel, Old High German rad wheel, Old Norse röthull halo, sun, Welsh rhod wheel, Latvian rats wheel, Sanskrit ratha wagon
1.
a.
(1) : a written document (as on parchment or paper) that is rolled up for carrying or storing : scroll
reading a certain passage from the roll — Robert Browning
specifically : a written document containing an official or formal record (as of the proceedings of a court or political body)
chancery rolls
rolls of parliament
keeper of the rolls
— compare master of the rolls
(2) : a manuscript book
medieval rolls of arms
b. : a list of names or related items : catalog , register
place at the head of the roll of science has not been challenged — Times Literary Supplement
a slipshod work that hardly belongs in the roll of his novels
belongs in the roll of great actors
c. : an official list
the roll of registered voters
the public relief rolls
as
(1) : muster roll
(2) : a list of members of a school or class
when students other than day students are permitted to withdraw, or are dropped from the roll — College of William & Mary Cat.
the teacher called the roll
(3) : a list of members of a legislative body
the clerk called the roll and recorded the votes
(4) Britain : a list of those qualified to practice as solicitors — usually used in plural
(5) : a list of practitioners in a court or in the courts of a state — usually used in plural
(6) : tax list
2. : something that is rolled up into or as if into a cylinder or ball
great rolls of fat around his middle — T.B.Costain
his head, which is bald on top, is outlined by a thick roll of curly black hair — Current Biography
a roll of twine
as
a.
(1) : a quantity (as of fabric or paper) rolled up to form a single package ; also : a number of separate sheets or papers rolled together
a roll of wrapping paper
a roll of paper towels
(2) : a bolt of wallpaper
(3) : web
b. : a hairdo in which some or all of the hair is rolled or curled up or under
pageboy roll
c. : a continuous strand of textile fiber (as wool) that is formed by slightly twisting, rolling, or rubbing the fibers
d. : any of various food preparations rolled up for cooking or serving: as
(1) : a small piece of yeast dough baked in any of numerous forms
(2) : meat rolled and cooked
(3) : jelly roll
(4) : sweet dough that is spread with a filling and then rolled up and baked
a blackberry roll
e. : a rounded molding or similar architectural element (as a volute of the Ionic order)
f. : a cylindrical twist of tobacco
g. : any of a series of rounded strips of wood over which the ends of the roofing plates of a lead or other metal roof are turned and lapped
h. : blanket roll 1
i. : music roll
j. : a flat flexible case (as of leather) in which articles may be rolled and fastened by straps or metal clasps ; also : a cylindrical case
k.
(1) : a number of pieces of paper money folded or rolled into a wad to be carried in the pocket
a man of the world who has a roll of bills in his pocket — Donald Windham
(2) slang : bankroll
producers themselves anxiously cast about for angels willing to shoot their rolls on shows — Seymour Peck
3. : something that performs a rolling action or movement : a cylindrical body set in bearings and used singly or in pairs or sets to crush, flatten, shape, move, or operate something : roller: as
a. : a roller used to break clods or level soil
b. : a metal wheel for making decorative lines on book covers ; also : a design impressed by such a tool
c. rolls plural : a set of two or more similar parallel cylinders placed a small distance apart in bearings and made to rotate in opposite directions so as to draw material between them in order to crush it (as rock or ore) or compress and shape it (as malleable metal)
d. : a typewriter platen
e. : break roll
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English rollen, rolen, from Middle French roller, roler, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin rotulare, from Latin rotulus, rotula small wheel
transitive verb
1.
a. : to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a surface
rolled the barrel down the hill
rolled the hoop along the street
b. : to cause to revolve by turning over and over : move by turning on or as if on an axis
were placed on the sheets and rolled in the flour — American Guide Series: Louisiana
c.
(1) : to move or cause to move in a circular manner : turn from one side to another
already the girl was rolling her eyes and giggling — Ellen Glasgow
rolled his head round in the direction of the curtained window — Elizabeth Bowen
rolling his shoulders — F.M.Ford
(2) : to swing or sway from side to side
rolled the great bomber like a jet fighter — Time
d. : to cause to take shape as a mass by turning over and over : heap up in a mass
the wind blowing over the empty prairies can roll tumbleweed as big as a bushel basket — Frances Gaither
e. : to impel forward with an easy, continuous motion
the river rolls its waters to the ocean
f.
(1) : to make a cast of (dice or a specified number on the dice)
(2) : to cast dice in competition with
I'll roll you to see who pays
2. : to reflect on : consider , ponder
my thoughts the matter roll , and solve and oft resolve the whole — R.W.Emerson
3.
a. : to put a wrapping around : enfold , envelop
very pleasant to lie snugly rolled in blankets — John Seago
b. : to wrap round on itself or on something else : cause to take a relatively spherical or cylindrical form : shape into a ball or roll
rolled his hamlike hands into fists — Irene Kuhn
rolled his own cigarettes
rolled up the cloth
rolled the bandage around his leg
4.
a.
(1) : to press, spread, or level with a roller : make smooth, even, or compact
roll steel rails
roll sheet-brass
roll a field
roll the dough
roll cracker crumbs
had seen too many minds rolled flat by academicism — T.M.Longstreth
(2) : to form a screw thread on (a rod) by cold-rolling between dies or rollers having suitably shaped ridges that displace the metal from the thread space and force it up above the original surface of the work on each side
b. : to make smooth and rounded by attrition
implements should be examined to see whether they are rolled … or wind-worn, or relatively fresh — Notes & Queries on Anthropology
c.
(1) : to ink with a roller or rollers
roll a form
(2) : to make (a stereotype matrix) or mold (a form) in a mangle
d. : to spread out : extend
if the weather was good we rolled our beds on the ground and slept in the open — Ross Santee
in the grave throw me and roll the sod o'er me — Western Folklore
roll out the red carpet
5.
a. : to cause to move on wheels
rolled the baby carriage to the store
b. : to transport in a wheeled vehicle
loved to be rolled through the park in an old-fashioned hansom cab
c. : to traverse in or by a wheeled vehicle
tried to believe the hardest miles were rolled — A.B.Guthrie
d. : to move or cause to be moved by means of rollers
had the log house rolled to its present site — American Guide Series: Louisiana
e. : to cause to begin operating or moving
roll the cameras
6.
a. : to sound with a full, reverberating tone
rolled the psalm to wintry skies — Alfred Tennyson
— often used with out
rolled out the words so that everyone could hear
b. : to make a continuous beating sound upon : sound a roll upon
local constables in remote hamlets rolled their drums to bring out the villagers — Time
c. : to utter with a thrill
they might roll their r's and use their noses as trombones of conversation — Corra Harris
d. : to play (a chord) in arpeggio style (as on a harp or piano)
7. : to rob (a person) usually by going through his pockets while he is drunk, asleep, or unconscious : jackroll
rolling lushes in the subway — Wolcott Gibbs
had been doped, beaten up, and rolled — R.G.Martin
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to move forward along a surface by rotation
the ball rolled along the floor
b.
(1) : to turn over and over
the children rolled in the grass, or waded in the brook — Henry Adams
the dog rolled in the mud
(2) : to luxuriate in an abundant supply : wallow — used with in
tragic to think that a man may be short of money whilst his children are rolling in it — J.D.Sheridan
c. : to move onward or around as if by completing a revolution
the months roll on
five summers have rolled round since then — Douglass Cater
: elapse , pass
the years roll by — Fortnight
d. : to move in an orbit
the planets roll around the sun
2.
a. : to look in one direction after another in quick succession : to shift the gaze continually
a pair of eyes which rolled with malevolent curiosity — T.B.Costain
b. archaic : to revolve in the mind
c. : to revolve on or as if on an axis
long has the globe been rolling round — Walt Whitman
3. : to move about : roam , wander
4.
a. : to flow with a rising and falling motion
the waves roll on
the clouds roll past
: go forward in an easy, gentle, or undulating manner
mists rolling down the mountain — Irish Digest
the fog, which from the foot of the lawn rolled away … like a sea — R.M.Lovett
b. : to flow in a continuous stream : to arrive, become produced, or become received in abundant quantities or amount : pour
cars rolling off the assembly line
delegates rolled in from all parts of the country
the money was rolling in
c. : to flow as part of a stream of words
catchy phrases, and sharp retorts that roll so freely from the tongues of the people he characterizes — H.H.Reichard
d. : to have an undulating contour : display a gently rising and falling surface
most of it is prairie, but the prairie rolls and dips and curves — Sinclair Lewis
e. : to lie extended : stretch
the flowers rolled away in dizzy unbroken patterns to the horizon — Alan Moorehead
to the west and south roll the grainfields — O.A.Fitzgerald
5.
a. : to become carried in a vehicle
got in the car and were soon rolling at high speed
b. : to become carried on a stream
the scattered debris rolled down the flooded river
c. : to move on wheels
with a smooth hard-packed surface of snow, trucks can roll right along — Harold Griffin
6.
a. : to make a deep reverberating sound
the thunder rolls
the drums roll
a roar from the crowd rolled all around enveloping us — A.P.Gaskell
b. : to make a deep and sonorous sound
listen to a rich voice which rolled out into the dusk — Margaret Kennedy
c. : trill — used of a bird
7.
a. : to incline first to one side and then to the other : swing from side to side
the ship still heaved and rolled on the heavy sea — C.S.Forester
as he swam he rolled like a sick fish — Kenneth Roberts
b. : to walk with a swinging gait : sway
a heavy elderly peasant rolled in his gait — F.M.Ford
c. : to move so as to cushion the impact of a blow — used with with
rolled with the punch, but it caught his nose nevertheless — Edwin Corle
8.
a. : to take the form of a cylinder or ball
this cloth rolls unevenly
laid my tarp on the ground and rolled up in every blanket I had — Ysabel Rennie
b. : to respond to rolling in a specified way : be in a specified condition after being rolled
the tennis court rolled easily after the shower
the metal rolled out in flat bars
9.
a. : to get under way : begin to move
the fire engines rolled while the alarm bell was still ringing
the company commander gave the signal to roll and the tanks moved out
b. : to move forward : develop and maintain impetus
not enough real sting in demand to get business rolling at the speed many steelmakers had hoped for — Wall Street Journal
rolled to a fourth term — Time
the team was held scoreless during the third period, but in the fourth period they started to roll again
c. : to go into action or operation
the cameras were ready to roll
the presses started to roll
d. : to go to press
they went home after the late edition had rolled
10.
a. : bowl
b. : to execute a forward or backward roll in tumbling
•
- roll one's hoop
- roll the bones
- roll up one's sleeves
III. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : a prolonged sound produced by rapid and regular strokes on a drum
b. : a sonorous and often rhythmical flow of speech
no amount of circumlocution in English can do justice to the heavy roll of the Latin periods — R.W.Southern
c. : a heavy reverberatory sound
the roll of cannon
the roll of thunder
heard the slow, steady roll of the surf — Hamilton Basso
d. : a chord in arpeggio style produced on a keyboard instrument or a harp
e. : a trill of some birds ; especially : any of various trills in the song of the canary
bass roll
bell roll
water roll
2. : a rolling movement or an action or process involving such movement
the roll of the waves
the roll of the ball
a roll of the dice
eyes with the hint of a roll in them — Clemence Dane
as
a. : a swaying movement of the body
she walks slowly, easily, but with a slight roll — Constance Walsh
b. : a side to side movement (as of a ship or train)
c.
(1) : an angular displacement about the longitudinal axis of an airplane
(2) : a flight maneuver in which a complete revolution about the longitudinal axis is made with the horizontal direction of flight being approximately maintained
d.
(1) : any of several acrobatic and modern dance exercises in which the body is rotated on the floor
back roll
chest roll
shoulder roll
(2) : a pivot of ballroom dance partners away from or toward each other or toward a new partner
e. : a tumbling stunt in which the body is rotated in a circle on the mat either forward or backward about its lateral axis while in a tuck position
f. : the movement of a curling stone after impact with another stone
3.
a. : an undulation in the roof or floor of a coal seam or in one or both walls of a mineral vein
b. : an undulation on a land surface : a low rounded ridge
the trees around the more distant spring are hidden behind a roll of the ground — G.R.Stewart
IV. noun
•
- on a roll