unroll

[uhn-rohl]

verb (used with object)

1. to open or spread out (something rolled or coiled).

   to unroll a bolt of fabric.

2. to lay open; display; reveal.

3. Obsolete.,  to strike from a roll or register.

verb (used without object)

1. to become unrolled or spread out.

   The scrolls unroll easily.

2. to become continuously visible or apparent.

   The landscape unrolled before our eyes.

unroll

/ ʌnˈrəʊl /

verb

1. to open out or unwind (something rolled, folded, or coiled) or (of something rolled, etc) to become opened out or unwound

2. to make or become visible or apparent, esp gradually; unfold

Word History and Origins

Origin of unroll¹

First recorded in 1375–1425, unroll is from the late Middle English word unrollen. See un- ², roll

Example Sentences

He watched soldiers and police unrolling barbed-wire fences across streets connecting East and West Berlin.

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That was a more upbeat forecast than the projections published as higher U.S. tariffs were being unrolled in April.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Now there's a new threat – drones equipped with a real fibre optic cable which unrolls as they fly.

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"We have to work out which layer is different from the next layer so we can unroll that digitally," said Dr Mancuso.

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The intertwining plots unroll in a mishmash of styles.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• unfurl