rolling

[ roh-ling ]

/ ˈroʊ lɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rolling ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the action, motion, or sound of anything that rolls.

adjective

moving by revolving or turning over and over.

rising and falling in gentle slopes, as land.

moving in undulating billows, as clouds or waves.

rocking or swaying from side to side.

turning or folding over, as a collar.

producing a deep, continuous sound.

Nearby words

rollerblade, rolliche, rollick, rollicking, rollicksome, rolling, rolling bearing, rolling boil, rolling friction, rolling hitch, rolling kitchen

Origin of rolling

1400–50; late Middle English (gerund); see roll, -ing¹, -ing²

Related forms

roll·ing·ly, adverb

Definition for rolling (2 of 2)

roll

[ rohl ]

/ roʊl /

verb (used without object)

to move along a surface by revolving or turning over and over, as a ball or a wheel.

to move or be moved on wheels, as a vehicle or its occupants.

to flow or advance in a stream or with an undulating motion, as water, waves, or smoke.

to extend in undulations, as land.

to elapse, pass, or move, as time (often followed by on, away, or by).

to move as in a cycle (usually followed by round or around): as soon as summer rolls round again.

to perform a periodical revolution in an orbit, as a heavenly body.

to emit or have a deep, prolonged sound, as thunder, drums, etc.

to trill, as a bird.

to revolve or turn over, once or repeatedly, as a wheel on an axis or a person or animal lying down.

to turn around in different directions or in a circle, as the eyes in their sockets.

(of a vessel)

to rock from side to side in open water.Compare heave(def 14b), pitch¹(def 20).
to sail with a side-to-side rocking motion.

to walk with a swinging or swaying gait.

Informal. to begin to move or operate; start; commence: Let's roll at sunrise.

Informal. to go forward or advance without restrictions or impediments: The economy is finally beginning to roll.

to curl up so as to form a tube or cylinder.

to admit of being formed into a tube or cylinder by curling up.

to be spread out after being curled up (usually followed by out).

to spread out as under a roller: The paint rolls easily.

Aviation. (of an aircraft or rocket) to deviate from a stable flight attitude by rotation about its longitudinal axis.

verb (used with object)

to cause to move along a surface by revolving or turning over and over, as a cask, a ball, or a hoop.

to move along on wheels or rollers; convey in a wheeled vehicle.

to drive, impel, or cause to flow onward with a sweeping or undulating motion: The wind rolled the waves high on the beach.

to utter or give forth with a full, flowing, continuous sound: rolling his orotund phrases.

to trill: to roll one's r's.

to cause to revolve or turn over or over and over: to roll oneself on one's face.

to cause to sway or rock from side to side, as a ship.

to wrap (something) around an axis, around upon itself, or into a cylindrical shape, ball, or the like: to roll string.

to make by forming a tube or cylinder: to roll a cigarette.

to spread out flat (something curled up) (often followed by out): He rolled the map out on the table.

to wrap, enfold, or envelop, as in some covering: to roll a child in a blanket.

to spread out, level, smooth, compact, or the like, as with a rolling pin, roller, the hands, etc.: to roll dough; to roll a tennis court.

to form (metal) in a rolling mill.

to tumble (metal pieces and abrasives) in a box or barrel in such a way that their relative positions remain the same.

to beat (a drum) with rapid, continuous strokes.

(in certain games, as craps) to cast, or throw (dice).

Printing. to apply (ink) with a roller or series of rollers.

Slang. to rob, especially by going through the pockets of a victim who is either asleep or drunk.

noun

a document of paper, parchment, or the like, that is or may be rolled up, as for storing; scroll.

a list, register, or catalog, especially one containing the names of the persons belonging to a company, class, society, etc.

anything rolled up in a ringlike or cylindrical form: a roll of wire.

a number of papers or other items rolled up together.

a length of cloth, wallpaper, or the like, rolled up in cylindrical form (often forming a definite measure).

a cylindrical or rounded mass of something: rolls of fat.

some article of cylindrical or rounded form, as a molding.

a cylindrical piece upon which something is rolled along to facilitate moving.

a cylinder serving as a core upon which something is rolled up.

a roller with which something is spread out, leveled, crushed, smoothed, compacted, or the like.

Cookery.

thin cake spread with jelly or the like and rolled up.
a small cake of bread, originally and still often rolled or doubled on itself before baking.
meat rolled up and cooked.

the act or process or an instance of rolling.

undulation, as of a surface: the roll of a prairie.

a sonorous or rhythmical flow of words.

a deep, prolonged sound, as of thunder: the deep roll of a breaking wave.

the trill of certain birds, especially of the roller canary.

the continuous sound of a drum rapidly beaten.

a rolling motion, as of a ship.

a rolling or swaying gait.

Aerospace.

a single, complete rotation of an airplane about the axis of the fuselage with little loss of altitude or change of direction.
(of an aircraft or rocket) the act of rolling.
the angular displacement caused by rolling.

Informal.

paper currency carried folded or rolled up: He took out an impressive roll and paid the check with a $100 bill.
bankroll; funds: People were encouraged to shoot their rolls on mining speculation.

(in various dice games)

a single cast of or turn at casting the dice.
the total number of pips or points made by a single cast; score or point.

Verb Phrases

roll back, to reduce (the price of a commodity, wages, etc.) to a former level, usually in response to government action.

roll in, Informal.

to luxuriate in; abound in: rolling in money.
to go to bed; retire: They would roll in later and later every night.
to mix and average the cost of (a higher-priced commodity or item) with that of a cheaper one so as to increase the retail price.
to add: Labor wants to roll in periodic increases with their wage demands.
to arrive, especially in large numbers or quantity: When do my dividends start rolling in?

roll out,

to spread out or flatten: to roll out dough.
Informal. to arise from bed; get up: It was nearly impossible to roll out on the first day back after vacation.
Football. to execute a rollout.
Informal. to introduce; unveil: a TV advertising campaign to roll out the new car.

roll over,

Business. to reinvest funds, especially a tax-free transfer of assets from one retirement plan to another.
to overturn: The truck rolled over, and the driver hung by her seatbelt.
to turn over: I rolled over in my sleep and nearly fell out of bed.

roll up,

to accumulate; collect: to roll up a large vote.
to increase.
to arrive in a conveyance: He rolled up to the front door in a chauffeur-driven limousine.

Origin of roll

1175–1225; (noun) (in senses referring to rolled or round objects) Middle English: scroll, inscribed scroll, register, cylindrical object < Old French ro(u)lle < Latin rotulus, rotula small wheel, diminutive of rota wheel (see rotate¹, -ule); (in senses referring to motion) derivative of the v.; (v.) Middle English rollen < Old French rol(l)er < Vulgar Latin *rotulare, derivative of Latin rotulus, rotula

SYNONYMS FOR roll

1 revolve, rotate.

3 wave, undulate.

4 undulate.

12 swing, tilt.

40 See list¹.

47 spindle.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR roll ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

roll·a·ble, adjectivere·roll, verbun·roll·a·ble, adjectivewell-rolled, adjective

Can be confused

role roll

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rolling

Mullins quotes Stewart from an interview with Rolling Stone.
David Gregory's 'Meet the Press' Eviction Exposed in Washingtonian Takedown|Lloyd Grove|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the same house where Rolling Stone's Jackie says she was.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything|Liz Seccuro|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But after Rolling Stone's rape story debacle, how much momentum does the call to ban fraternities have left?
Fraternities in a Post-UVA World|Samantha Allen|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Imagine driving through the Scottish countryside, rolling through a vast landscape of green hills and cloudy skies.
Ester Elchies, The Estate Built By Whiskey||December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

This is a pope who has been rolling heads since he came to power in March 2013.
Is The Pope Unprotected Now That He’s Fired the Head of the Swiss Guards?|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She sits and drinks in his words, she feels him rolling the heavy stones from off her heart.
Yiddish Tales|Various
Not the great sea, but the current that was rolling toward the island grove.
In The Boyhood of Lincoln|Hezekiah Butterworth
Next a rolling sound such as thunder makes a long way off filled the air.
The Strange Story Book|Mrs. Andrew Lang
Suddenly, during a flash of lightning, one of these masses was seen crashing and rolling down the mountain towards the tarantass.
Michael Strogoff|Jules Verne
The horse steps on a rolling stone; a wind in the branches makes a moan.
Men, Women and Ghosts|Amy Lowell

British Dictionary definitions for rolling (1 of 2)

rolling

/ (ˈrəʊlɪŋ) /

adjective

having gentle rising and falling slopes; undulatingrolling country

progressing or spreading by stages or by occurrences in different places in succession, with continued or increasing effectivenessthree weeks of rolling strikes disrupted schools

subject to regular review and updatinga rolling plan for overseas development

deeply resounding; reverberatingrolling thunder

slang extremely rich

that may be turned up or downa rolling hat brim

adverb

slang swaying or staggering (in the phrase rolling drunk)

British Dictionary definitions for rolling (2 of 2)

roll

/ (rəʊl) /

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 movementbillows of smoke rolled over the ground

(intr) (of animals, etc) to turn onto the back and kickthe hills roll down to the sea

(intr) to extend in undulationsthe hills roll down to the sea

(intr usually foll by 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 elapsethe years roll by

to rotate or cause to rotate wholly or partiallyto 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 cylinderto roll a cigarette

(often foll by out) to spread or cause to spread out flat or smooth under or as if under a rollerto roll the lawn; to roll pastry

to emit, produce, or utter with a deep prolonged reverberating soundthe thunder rolled continuously

to trill or cause to be trilledto roll one's r's

(intr) (of a vessel, aircraft, rocket, etc) to turn from side to side around the longitudinal axisCompare pitch 1 (def. 11), yaw (def. 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 (def. 41)

(intr) to walk with a swaying gait, as when drunk; sway

(intr often foll by 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 operatethe presses rolled

(intr) informal to make progress; move or go aheadlet the good times roll

(tr) informal, mainly US and NZ to rob (a helpless person, such as someone drunk or asleep)

(tr) slang to have sexual intercourse or foreplay with (a person)

start the ball rolling or set the ball rolling to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)

noun

the act or an instance of rolling

anything rolled up in a cylindrical forma roll of newspaper

an official list or register, esp of namesan electoral roll

a rounded massrolls 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 fillingSee also swiss roll

a swell, ripple, or undulation on a surfacethe roll of the hills

a swaying, rolling, or unsteady movement or gait

a deep prolonged reverberating soundthe 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

on a roll slang experiencing continued good luck or success

strike off the roll or strike off the rolls

to expel from membership
to debar (a solicitor) from practising, usually because of dishonesty

Word Origin for roll

C14 rollen, from Old French roler, from Latin rotulus a little wheel, from rota a wheel

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with rolling

roll

In addition to the idioms beginning with roll

roll around
roll back
roll in
rolling stone
roll in the aisles
roll in the hay
roll out
roll over
roll the bones
roll up
roll up one's sleeves
roll with the punches

also see:

easy as pie (rolling off a log)
get rolling
get the ball rolling
heads will roll
on a roll
red carpet