scroll

American  

[skrohl] / skroʊl /

noun

1. a roll of parchment, paper, copper, or other material, especially one with writing on it.

   a scroll containing the entire Old Testament.

2. something, especially an ornament, resembling a partly unrolled sheet of paper or having a spiral or coiled form.

3. a list, roll, roster, or schedule.

4. (in Japanese and Chinese art) a painting or text on silk or paper that is either displayed on a wall hanging scroll or held by the viewer hand scroll and is rolled up when not in use.

5. the curved head of a violin or other bowed instrument.

6. a note, message, or other piece of writing.

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verb (used with object)

scrolls, present (3rd person singular) scrolled, past participle, past scrolling present participle

1. to cut into a curved form with a narrow-bladed saw.

2. Computers. to move (text) up, down, or across a display screen, with new text appearing on the screen as old text disappears.

verb (used without object)

scrolls, present (3rd person singular) scrolled, past participle, past scrolling present participle

1. Computers. to move text vertically or horizontally on a display screen in searching for a particular section, line, etc.

scroll British  

/ skrəʊl /

noun

1. a roll of parchment, paper, etc, usually inscribed with writing

2. an ancient book in the form of a roll of parchment, papyrus, etc

3. 1. a decorative carving or moulding resembling a scroll

   2. ( as modifier )

      a scroll saw

   3. ( in combination )

      scrollwork

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verb

1. (tr) to saw into scrolls

2. to roll up like a scroll

3. computing to move (text) from right to left or up and down on a screen in order to view text that cannot be contained within a single display image

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• scroll-like
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have scrolled
  perfect
• has scrolled
  perfect 3rd person singular
• am scrolling
  progressive 1st person singular
• are scrolling
  progressive
• have been scrolling
  perfect progressive
• scrolls
  singular 3rd person
• scrolling
  participle
• has been scrolling
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• is scrolling
  progressive 3rd person singular

Past

• had scrolled
  perfect
• had been scrolling
  perfect progressive
• were scrolling
  progressive plural
• was scrolling
  progressive singular
• scrolled
  participle
• scrolled
  simple

Future

• will scroll
  simple
• will have scrolled
  perfect
• will have been scrolling
  perfect progressive
• will be scrolling
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of scroll

1350–1400; Middle English scrowle; blend of scrow, aphetic variant of escrow and rowle roll

Explanation

A rolled up piece of paper is a scroll. If you write a poem on a sheet of paper, roll it up, and tie it with a ribbon, you can call it a scroll. Before books existed, people wrote stories or important information on parchment or papyrus and rolled them into scrolls for easy storage and transport. Sometimes, a scroll would serve as a work of art, a decorated tale that would occasionally be unrolled and displayed. These days, when you scroll through something, you're probably reading it on a computer, moving down the screen.

Example Sentences

Scroll through TikTok or Instagram and you will likely see the familiar line: “Your frontal lobe isn’t fully developed yet.”

From Science Daily • Feb. 19, 2026

Scroll through social media and you’ll find NFL reporters and podcast bros posting video after video of themselves walking through San Francisco in disbelief.

From Salon • Feb. 10, 2026

Scroll around and you’ll find pictures of the notes employees have allegedly been leaving behind.

From Slate • Dec. 4, 2025

The results were announced live on Japanese TV - with the AI song, Omoide Scroll, winning by more than 3,000 votes.

From BBC • Sep. 16, 2025

But a muscular Lithuanian seized the extremity of the Scroll, and others hung on, and between them they wrested it from his grasp.

From Ghetto Tragedies by Zangwill, Israel

Related Words

• manuscript