ENGLISH THESAURUS & DICTIONARY

roll

noun · verb

Words like roll

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166 words · noun, verbSort by

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MEANING & USAGE

Definitions & examples

01noun

rotary motion of an object around its own axis

“wheels in axial rotation”

02noun

a list of names

“his name was struck off the rolls”

03noun

a long heavy sea wave as it advances towards the shore

04noun

photographic film rolled up inside a container to protect it from light

29 more meanings

05noun

a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals)

06noun

a roll of currency notes (often taken as the resources of a person or business etc.)

“he shot his roll on a bob-tailed nag”

07noun

small rounded bread either plain or sweet

08noun

a deep prolonged sound (as of thunder or large bells)

09noun

the sound of a drum (especially a snare drum) beaten rapidly and continuously

10noun

a document that can be rolled up (as for storage)

11noun

anything rolled up in cylindrical form

12noun

the act of throwing dice

13noun

walking with a swaying gait

14noun

a flight maneuver; aircraft rotates about its longitudinal axis without changing direction or losing altitude

15noun

the act of rolling something (as the ball in bowling)

16verb

move by turning over or rotating

“The child rolled down the hill”

“turn over on your left side”

17verb

move along on or as if on wheels or a wheeled vehicle

“The President's convoy rolled past the crowds”

18verb

occur in soft rounded shapes

“The hills rolled past”

19verb

flatten or spread with a roller

“roll out the paper”

20verb

emit, produce, or utter with a deep prolonged reverberating sound

“The thunder rolled”

“rolling drums”

21verb

arrange or coil around

“roll your hair around your finger”

“Twine the thread around the spool”

22verb

begin operating or running

“The cameras were rolling”

“The presses are already rolling”

23verb

shape by rolling

“roll a cigarette”

24verb

execute a roll, in tumbling

“The gymnasts rolled and jumped”

25verb

sell something to or obtain something from by energetic and especially underhanded activity

26verb

move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion

“The curtains undulated”

“the waves rolled towards the beach”

27verb

move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment

“The gypsies roamed the woods”

“roving vagabonds”

28verb

move, rock, or sway from side to side

“The ship rolled on the heavy seas”

29verb

cause to move by turning over or in a circular manner of as if on an axis

“She rolled the ball”

“They rolled their eyes at his words”

30verb

pronounce with a roll, of the phoneme /r/

“She rolls her r's”

31verb

boil vigorously

“The liquid was seething”

“The water rolled”

32verb

take the shape of a roll or cylinder

“the carpet rolled out”

“Yarn rolls well”

33verb

show certain properties when being rolled

“The carpet rolls unevenly”

“dried-out tobacco rolls badly”

Meanings and examples from Open English WordNet 2025. About our sources ↗

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Expressions with “roll”

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Explore multiword dictionary entries containing this word. Each has its own meanings and related words.

roll in roll up egg roll roll off roll out drum roll hard roll moxa roll