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.
Ms. Anderson, who loved to roller skate and attend Michigan State basketball games, was studying to become a doctor because she wanted to help others, her grandfather, Dwayne Thomas, said in a telephone interview.
From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2023
This is now a spot for people who roller skate.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2022
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
So she began to do so in earnest: crocheting, writing in a journal and learning to roller-skate.
From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 2022
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
Still, I kept wondering: How on earth was I going to roller-skate in silk stockings?
From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz
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
The wheels were basic - taken from roller-skates and attached to the board - but Wang quickly became an enthusiast.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2016
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
The movie, of course, was a mess — but the kind of wildly colorful, overstuffed, yes-to-everything mess that could have roller-skated right into his own work.
From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2022
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
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
Officials in Penza claimed that a rally couldn't go ahead due to a roller-skating masterclass at the requested location.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
The event sold ticket-holders a big dream, including an ’80s-themed neon roller-skating party, an interactive Barbie Dream House, a bicycle course and a free glam bar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
What organizers have dubbed the recess district will occupy the Artists at Play area near MoPOP, with performances from those theatrical wrestling pros and the Roll Around Seatown roller-skating brigade.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2023
I imagined her telling knock-knock jokes and roller-skating and eating ice cream on her porch at night.
From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor
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.
