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verb (used without object)
1.
to move along a surface by revolving or turning over and over, as a ball or a wheel.
2.
to move or be moved on wheels, as a vehicle or its occupants.
3.
to flow or advance in a stream or with an undulating motion, as water, waves, or smoke.
4.
to extend in undulations, as land.
5.
EXPANDto elapse, pass, or move, as time (often followed by on, away, or by).
6.
to move as in a cycle (usually followed by round or around): as soon as summer rolls round again.
7.
to perform a periodical revolution in an orbit, as a heavenly body.
8.
to emit or have a deep, prolonged sound, as thunder, drums, etc.
9.
to trill, as a bird.
10.
to revolve or turn over, once or repeatedly, as a wheel on an axis or a person or animal lying down.
11.
to turn around in different directions or in a circle, as the eyes in their sockets.
12.
13.
to walk with a swinging or swaying gait.
14.
Informal. to begin to move or operate; start; commence: Let's roll at sunrise.
15.
Informal. to go forward or advance without restrictions or impediments: The economy is finally beginning to roll.
16.
to curl up so as to form a tube or cylinder.
17.
to admit of being formed into a tube or cylinder by curling up.
18.
to be spread out after being curled up (usually followed by out).
19.
to spread out as under a roller: The paint rolls easily.
20.
COLLAPSEAviation. (of an aircraft or rocket) to deviate from a stable flight attitude by rotation about its longitudinal axis.
verb (used with object)
21.
to cause to move along a surface by revolving or turning over and over, as a cask, a ball, or a hoop.
22.
to move along on wheels or rollers; convey in a wheeled vehicle.
23.
to drive, impel, or cause to flow onward with a sweeping or undulating motion: The wind rolled the waves high on the beach.
24.
to utter or give forth with a full, flowing, continuous sound: rolling his orotund phrases.
25.
EXPANDto trill: to roll one's r's.
26.
to cause to revolve or turn over or over and over: to roll oneself on one's face.
27.
to cause to sway or rock from side to side, as a ship.
28.
to wrap (something) around an axis, around upon itself, or into a cylindrical shape, ball, or the like: to roll string.
29.
to make by forming a tube or cylinder: to roll a cigarette.
30.
to spread out flat (something curled up) (often followed by out): He rolled the map out on the table.
31.
to wrap, enfold, or envelop, as in some covering: to roll a child in a blanket.
32.
to spread out, level, smooth, compact, or the like, as with a rolling pin, roller, the hands, etc.: to roll dough; to roll a tennis court.
33.
to form (metal) in a rolling mill.
34.
to tumble (metal pieces and abrasives) in a box or barrel in such a way that their relative positions remain the same.
35.
to beat (a drum) with rapid, continuous strokes.
36.
(in certain games, as craps) to cast, or throw (dice).
38.
COLLAPSESlang. to rob, especially by going through the pockets of a victim who is either asleep or drunk.
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On a roll
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
noun
Verb phrases39.
a document of paper, parchment, or the like, that is or may be rolled up, as for storing; scroll.
40.
a list, register, or catalog, especially one containing the names of the persons belonging to a company, class, society, etc.
41.
anything rolled up in a ringlike or cylindrical form: a roll of wire.
42.
a number of papers or other items rolled up together.
43.
EXPANDa length of cloth, wallpaper, or the like, rolled up in cylindrical form (often forming a definite measure).
44.
a cylindrical or rounded mass of something: rolls of fat.
45.
some article of cylindrical or rounded form, as a molding.
46.
a cylindrical piece upon which something is rolled along to facilitate moving.
47.
a cylinder serving as a core upon which something is rolled up.
48.
a roller with which something is spread out, leveled, crushed, smoothed, compacted, or the like.
49.
Cookery.
a.
thin cake spread with jelly or the like and rolled up.
b.
a small cake of bread, originally and still often rolled or doubled on itself before baking.
c.
meat rolled up and cooked.
50.
the act or process or an instance of rolling.
51.
undulation, as of a surface: the roll of a prairie.
52.
a sonorous or rhythmical flow of words.
53.
a deep, prolonged sound, as of thunder: the deep roll of a breaking wave.
54.
the trill of certain birds, especially of the roller canary.
55.
the continuous sound of a drum rapidly beaten.
56.
a rolling motion, as of a ship.
57.
a rolling or swaying gait.
58.
59.
Informal.
a.
paper currency carried folded or rolled up: He took out an impressive roll and paid the check with a $100 bill.
b.
bankroll; funds: People were encouraged to shoot their rolls on mining speculation.
60.
COLLAPSE(in various dice games)
a.
a single cast of or turn at casting the dice.
b.
the total number of pips or points made by a single cast; score or point.
61.
roll back, to reduce (the price of a commodity, wages, etc.) to a former level, usually in response to government action.
62.
roll in, Informal.
a.
to luxuriate in; abound in: rolling in money.
b.
to go to bed; retire: They would roll in later and later every night.
c.
to mix and average the cost of (a higher-priced commodity or item) with that of a cheaper one so as to increase the retail price.
d.
to add: Labor wants to roll in periodic increases with their wage demands.
e.
to arrive, especially in large numbers or quantity: When do my dividends start rolling in?
63.
roll out,
a.
to spread out or flatten: to roll out dough.
b.
Informal. to arise from bed; get up: It was nearly impossible to roll out on the first day back after vacation.
c.
Football. to execute a rollout.
d.
Informal. to introduce; unveil: a TV advertising campaign to roll out the new car.
64.
roll over,
a.
Business. to reinvest funds, especially a tax-free transfer of assets from one retirement plan to another.
b.
to overturn: The truck rolled over, and the driver hung by her seatbelt.
c.
to turn over: I rolled over in my sleep and nearly fell out of bed.
65.
Idiomsroll up,
a.
to accumulate; collect: to roll up a large vote.
b.
to increase.
c.
to arrive in a conveyance: He rolled up to the front door in a chauffeur-driven limousine.
66.
on a roll,
a.
(in a gambling game) having a continuing winning streak.
b.
enjoying continuing good luck or success: She's been on a roll since taking that course on sales techniques.
67.
roll in the hay, Slang. an instance of sexual intercourse.
68.
roll one's eyes, to turn one's eyes around in different directions or in a circle, especially as an expression of disbelief, annoyance, or impatience: He rolled his eyes when he heard the stupid joke.
69.
roll with the punches. punch1 (def. 16).
70.
strike off/from the rolls, to remove from membership or practice, as to disbar: He will surely be struck off the rolls if this conduct continues.
Origin:
1175–1225; (noun) (in senses referring to rolled or round objects) Middle English: scroll, inscribed scroll, register, cylindrical object < Old French ro(u)lle < Latin rotulus, rotula small wheel, diminutive of rota wheel (see rotate, -ule); (in senses referring to motion) derivative of the v.; (v.) Middle English rollen < Old French rol(l)er < Vulgar Latin *rotulare, derivative of Latin rotulus, rotula
1175–1225; (noun) (in senses referring to rolled or round objects) Middle English: scroll, inscribed scroll, register, cylindrical object < Old French ro(u)lle < Latin rotulus, rotula small wheel, diminutive of rota wheel (see rotate, -ule); (in senses referring to motion) derivative of the v.; (v.) Middle English rollen < Old French rol(l)er < Vulgar Latin *rotulare, derivative of Latin rotulus, rotula
Related forms
roll·a·ble, adjective
re·roll, verb
un·roll·a·ble, adjective
well-rolled, adjective
Synonyms
1. revolve, rotate. 3. wave, undulate. 4. undulate. 12. swing, tilt. 40. See list1. 47. spindle.
1. revolve, rotate. 3. wave, undulate. 4. undulate. 12. swing, tilt. 40. See list1. 47. spindle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To on a roll
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
roll
c.1300 in intrans. sense of "to move by rotating;" late 14c. as "to move (something) by turning it over and over," from roll (n.).
EXPAND"The rollyng stone neuer gatherth mosse." [John Heywood, "A dialogue conteinying the nomber in effect of all the proverbes in the Englishe tongue," 1546]Of eyes, from 1510s. Of a movie camera, "to start filming," from 1938. Sense of "to rob a stuporous drunk" is from 1873, from the action required to get to his pockets. To roll with the punches is a metaphor from boxing (1940). Rolling pin is recorded from late 15c. Heads will roll is a Hitlerism:
"If our movement is victorious there will be a revolutionary tribunal which will punish the crimes of November 1918. Then decapitated heads will roll in the sand." [1930]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
on a roll definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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roll (a set) definitionand roll a set of prints.
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
on a roll
On a streak of success or intense activity, as in The team's scored three runs in the last inning and they're really on a roll, or Once the experiment succeeded, Tim was on a roll. This slangy term, alluding to the momentum in the act of rolling, dates from the second half of the 1900s, but roll alone has been used in this sense since the early 1800s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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