scroll
Americannoun
-
scrolls
plural
-
a roll of parchment, paper, copper, or other material, especially one with writing on it.
a scroll containing the entire Old Testament.
-
something, especially an ornament, resembling a partly unrolled sheet of paper or having a spiral or coiled form.
-
a list, roll, roster, or schedule.
-
(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.
-
the curved head of a violin or other bowed instrument.
-
a note, message, or other piece of writing.
verb (used with object)
-
scrolls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scrolled,
past participle, past
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scrolling
present participle
-
to cut into a curved form with a narrow-bladed saw.
-
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
noun
-
a roll of parchment, paper, etc, usually inscribed with writing
-
an ancient book in the form of a roll of parchment, papyrus, etc
-
-
a decorative carving or moulding resembling a scroll
-
( as modifier )
a scroll saw
-
( in combination )
scrollwork
-
verb
-
(tr) to saw into scrolls
-
to roll up like a scroll
-
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scrollsimple
-
scrollssimple
-
have scrolledperfect
-
has scrolledperfect
-
am scrollingprogressive
-
are scrollingprogressive
-
is scrollingprogressive
-
have been scrollingperfect progressive
-
has been scrollingperfect progressive
Past
-
scrolledsimple
-
had scrolledperfect
-
was scrollingprogressive
-
were scrollingprogressive
-
had been scrollingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing scroll
Ancient Egypt - Introductory
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"Invictus"
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Ancient Egypt - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In the joke that inspires the special’s title, she measures an Instagram comment’s subzero value in a wide scope, lampooning the communal yet cartoonish nature of our endless scroll.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
Researchers in Italy announced in June the first complete virtual unrolling of a scroll, which turned out to be a treatise on ethics.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Every tweet is met with an infinite scroll of rejoinders; no observation she posits goes unpunished.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
Only registered users can see personal data, scroll through security camera history or unlock doors using HomeView.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
“What’s the point of that?” said Razi, nodding toward the scroll in the case Shifa had made.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
The text scrolls as he speaks, and it can also be controlled via a ring on his finger.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
The technology is transforming the work of historians not only by decoding documents, but also by analysing millions of medieval manuscripts or helping read ancient scrolls.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace and wholeness, appears after a crisis in the Book of Numbers, and it is written with a break in its third letter in all Torah scrolls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Mygal scrolls through the Telegram app on her phone, checking channels that monitor the direction of drone attacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
She waved a hand at the scrolls with ink-brushed mountains that hung by the fireplace, the glazed pottery horse on the mantel.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
He took out his phone and scrolled old pictures.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
A menu of worries scrolled through my head as I sat with my coffee one recent morning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
When Maitri Sanghvi scrolled through TikTok, "Japan just kept popping up," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Out of curiosity, I scrolled through a few vertical videos on HBO Max to see what might pop up.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
Moss rolled his eyes at him, then scrolled down his timeline on Twitter.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Critics say social networks use addictive algorithms to keep kids glued to their screens, and warn excessive scrolling can damage their mental health.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
So Hanawalt reactivated her dormant Facebook account and began scrolling through local horse sale groups.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
NEW YORK—We’ve spent the last decade scrolling on iPhones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Those classified as "light process" users spent less than four to five hours a day using their phones for a mixture of social interaction, news, entertainment, and passive scrolling.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
I’m sitting on my own, scrolling through my new phone, adding numbers, when someone moves into my peripheral vision.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
