adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rollicking
Explanation
Something that's rollicking is really fun and playful. When you throw a party, you hope your friends will describe it as rollicking. Parties with live music and great food are usually rollicking, and a wonderful game of charades with your family can also be rollicking. You might even describe a funny movie or a song you can dance to this way. The root of rollicking is a nineteenth century verb that we don't use much these days, rollick, "to behave exuberantly." It, in turn, is most likely a combination of frolic and roll.
Vocabulary lists containing rollicking
Things Fall Apart
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Mardi Gras: Fun
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The Woman Warrior
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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.
The first half of 2026 comes to a close on Tuesday, and with it, another rollicking stretch for the U.S. equity market.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
The rollicking opinion by Justice Neil Gorsuch, at 19 pages, is worth a read.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Surprisingly, this was Ms. Josefowicz’s first Ojai Festival, her debut on the Libbey Bowl stage having come the day before, proffering Mr. Adams’s rollicking “Road Movies” with her frequent musical partner John Novacek on piano.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
“Is God Is” isn’t the kind of rollicking free-for-all that will have you cheering in the theater.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
Finally, we reached a wide square where the carnival was in full, rollicking swing, packed with masses of people and brightly colored tents and more activity than my eyes could take in at once.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
