a boot or shoe with four small wheels attached that enable the wearer to glide swiftly over a floor or other surface
a device having clamps or straps for attaching such wheels to a boot or shoe
An Americanism dating back to 1860–65
First recorded in 1870–75; v. use of roller skate
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Exercise has been a part of Jill Biden’s life since she was a child who liked to roller skate.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 1, 2023
She loved to roller skate and enjoyed attending Michigan State basketball games, Mr. Thomas said.
From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2023
But "Running Up That Hill" isn't employed merely to set a tone or place us in an era, like neon roller skate wheels or Scrunchies.
From Salon ● May 30, 2022
Other times, she stops on less than a dime, causes a defender in transition to roller skate out of the arena, and rises for a quick 3.
From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2021
An armor-plated military vehicle encountering no greater obstacle than a lost roller skate.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
R&B singer Usher has promised to roller-skate during his Super Bowl half-time show, in Las Vegas, on Sunday.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2024
In between, they also do regular kid things like sell lemonade and roller-skate and have sleepovers.
From New York Times ● Nov. 12, 2021
I mean, we couldn’t roller-skate because she thought we’d get hurt.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2018
When Gus and I were kids, she taught us to roller-skate and read us everything from Beatrix Potter to Newsweek.
From Salon ● Jan. 12, 2014
She let me roller-skate in the ballroom and I broke what’s called my tailbone.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Sara said she had fallen over on some roller-skates, but her account seemed inconsistent.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2024
The highly anticipated film roller-skates into theaters July 21.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2023
Mr. Rockman travels on roller-skates — an exhilarating if terrifying experience when plunging down the mountains outside Jerusalem toward the coastal plain outside Tel Aviv.
From New York Times ● Oct. 5, 2022
Todd Phillips trains the camera on the movie screen as the Little Tramp roller-skates closer and closer to a steep drop.
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2020
He was a very good skater and all, but I couldn't enjoy it much because I kept picturing him practicing to be a guy that roller-skates on the stage.
From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
The actress roller-skated throughout her Broadway debut in “Starlight Express,” sung while suspended upside down in her Tony-winning performance of “Nine” and learned Bob Fosse’s famously particular style of dance for “Damn Yankees.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
Ronnie and I went to movies, we roller-skated, went out dancing and went to concerts and parties together.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2022
As a kid in the early 1980s, I roller-skated on the bike path.
From New York Times ● Jul. 13, 2021
The Mariner moose roller-skated onto the scene in 1990, and Harry the Husky joined the fray in 1995.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 1, 2021
Charlotte and I roller-skated, and although it didn’t take me long to learn, my knees were skinned most of the time.
From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz
Coco Franklin, a yoga and roller-skating instructor in Long Beach, Calif., bought a 2003 Jeep Wrangler a few years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
In putting together this oral history on the indoor roller-skating scene in L.A.,
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
The Corn Exchange began hosting entertainment from 1858 and played host to Shakespeare recitations, dancing, roller-skating, wrestling and bingo.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2023
Their dream itinerary included roller-skating in Glendale, a trip to Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, and karaoke and pastries in Little Tokyo.
From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2023
At Lakewood, teenagers joined in the new national fad of roller-skating on an indoor wooden rink.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
