unroll
Americanverb (used with object)
-
unrolls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unrolled,
past participle, past
-
unrolling
present participle
-
to open or spread out (something rolled or coiled).
to unroll a bolt of fabric.
-
to lay open; display; reveal.
-
Obsolete. to strike from a roll or register.
verb (used without object)
-
unrolls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unrolled,
past participle, past
-
unrolling
present participle
-
to become unrolled or spread out.
The scrolls unroll easily.
-
to become continuously visible or apparent.
The landscape unrolled before our eyes.
verb
-
to open out or unwind (something rolled, folded, or coiled) or (of something rolled, etc) to become opened out or unwound
-
to make or become visible or apparent, esp gradually; unfold
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
unrollsimple
-
unrollssimple
-
have unrolledperfect
-
has unrolledperfect
-
am unrollingprogressive
-
are unrollingprogressive
-
is unrollingprogressive
-
have been unrollingperfect progressive
-
has been unrollingperfect progressive
Past
-
unrolledsimple
-
had unrolledperfect
-
was unrollingprogressive
-
were unrollingprogressive
-
had been unrollingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unroll
First recorded in 1375–1425, unroll is from the late Middle English word unrollen. See un- 2, roll
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:
Now slice the cylinder open and unroll it to get a flat rectangular sheet.
From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2026
Some people even unroll tin cans into strips to form parts of their walls.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2024
Dr. Seales released his images, and the computer code he used to unroll the scrolls.
From NewsForKids.net ● Oct. 25, 2023
The measure will unroll in phases, with the first seven counties — Glenn, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Stanislaus and Tuolumne — set to launch their efforts in October.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2023
I breathed through my mouth and spent only enough time in that log cabin bathroom to unroll a bunch of toilet paper.
From "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" by Christopher Paul Curtis
Now there's a new threat – drones equipped with a real fibre optic cable which unrolls as they fly.
From BBC ● May 14, 2025
Season 1 of "Gen V" unrolls similarly, with that previously cited incident upending the social hierarchy and thrusting Marie to the top of the campus heap.
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2023
“This is the turning that unrolls the day, that turns the turns that the seasons obey, and the cycle of years, and the decades.”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 22, 2022
Around him, Hudlin unrolls a life that, Poitier believed, fulfilled the predictions of the soothsayer his mother consulted when he was not expected to survive infancy.
From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2022
Hauptmann promises trips to Berlin; he unrolls schematics from an electronics factory in Austria and says, “Several ministries have demonstrated enthusiasm for our project.”
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
That was a more upbeat forecast than the projections published as higher U.S. tariffs were being unrolled in April.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
We sat in the heat of the tin-roofed sitting room as the past unrolled on my laptop screen.
From BBC ● May 25, 2024
"Around 14 days after germination, we unrolled the paper so that we could observe the early development of the roots without the interference of any soil adhered to them," says Hochholdinger.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2024
The painting, stretched on a frame, was even more radiant than it had looked when the auction house first unrolled it.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 30, 2023
A small burial mound in the middle of Nathan’s garden, where vines and flowers have long since unrolled to feed insects and children.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Soon after, the dark filament detached on one side and shot outward, unrolling violently as it moved.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 21, 2026
"Rolling, unrolling, or hanging it in a new way can cause tearing, stitch loss and distortion of the fabric."
From Barron's ● Jan. 15, 2026
"Rolling, unrolling or handling it in a new way can cause damage."
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026
In the 2018 book “Hinterland,” Phil A. Neel described the sound of America’s exurban sprawl as “guns cocking over trap snares unrolling to infinity.”
From Salon ● May 16, 2025
The picture shows a woman knitting on a streetcar, with the ends of her knitting needles poking into the people beside her and her ball of wool unrolling down the aisle.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
