Pronunciations (4)
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/ˈɹəʊlə/
Pronunciation notes
- Received-Pronunciation
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/ˈɹoʊlɚ/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
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ˈɹəʊlə
Pronunciation notes
- GB
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ˈɹoʊlɚ
Pronunciation notes
- US
Noun
Anything that rolls. Any rotating cylindrical device that is part of a machine, especially one used to apply or reduce pressure.
Anything that rolls. A cylindrical (or approximately cylindrical) item used under a heavy object to facilitate moving it; usually several are needed.
Anything that rolls. A person who rolls something, such as cigars or molten metal.
Anything that rolls. A large rolling device used to flatten a grass surface; commonly in relation to a cricket pitch.
Anything that rolls. A cylindrical tool for applying paint or ink.
- Synonyms
- Examples
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The deposit of color on the stone is transmitted to the metal by the lithographic roller the same as for paper.
Anything that rolls. An agricultural machine used for flattening land and breaking up lumps of earth.
Anything that rolls. One of a set of small cylindrical tubes used to curl hair.
Anything that rolls. A roller towel.
Anything that rolls. A small wheel, as of a caster, a roller skate, etc.
- Examples
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The cable used for hauling the wagons on the incline may still be seen, but several of the guiding rollers have disappeared.
Anything that rolls. A rolling element inside a roller bearing: a small cylinder or sphere of metal.
Anything that rolls. One of a set of rolling cylinders allowing a rider to practise balance while training indoors.
Anything that rolls. Any insect whose larva rolls up leaves, especially those in family Tortricidae.
Anything that rolls. A dung beetle that rolls dung into balls.
Anything that rolls. A cylinder snakes, small ground snakes of the genus Cylindrophis.
Anything that rolls. A rolling pin
Anything that rolls. A throw which involves the player throwing the disc in a way that makes it roll, by that being able to travel further than if thrown in the air. Only used on holes with open areas with short or no grass.
- Examples
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He threw a beautiful roller that cut the corner perfectly and stopped just outside the circle.
A long wide bandage used in surgery.
A large, wide, curling wave that falls back on itself as it breaks on a coast.
- Examples
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More examples (2)
He and Gerald usually challenged the rollers in a sponson canoe when Gerald was there for the weekend ; or, when Lansing came down, the two took long swims seaward or cruised about in Gerald's dory, clad in their swimming-suits ; and Selwyn's youth became renewed in a manner almost ridiculous,[…].
A road that runs due west from Dale passes the village church and Dale Castle, and a footpath continues to Westdale Bay, a sandy beach used by surfers when the westerlies send great rollers crashing in from the Atlantic.
A bird. A breed or variety of roller pigeon that rolls (i.e. tumbles or somersaults) backwards (compare Penson roller, Birmingham roller, tumbler).
A bird. Any of various nonpasserine birds constituting the family Coraciidae, having stocky bodies, large heads, and stout bills hooked at the tip.
- Examples
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More examples (1)
In such places I found a good many birds, among which were the fine cream-coloured pigeon, Carpophaga luctuosa, and the rare blue-headed roller, Coracias temmincki, which has a most discordant voice, and generally goes in pairs, flying from tree to tree, and exhibiting while at rest that all-in-a-heap appearance and jerking motion of the head and tail which are so characteristic of the great Fissirostral group to which it belongs.
A police patrol car or patrolman (rather than an unmarked police car or a detective)
A padded surcingle that is used on horses for training and vaulting.
A roll of titles or (especially) credits played over film or video; television or film credits.
- Examples
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I learned a lot from watching, but the part that I should have studied harder was the roller. The names of the writers went on for ever.
A wheelchair user.
Usage- Slang
A Rolls-Royce motorcar.
Usage- Informal
- Slang
A type break that consists of drum rolls; a drum and bass track made with such breaks.
Usage- Slang
Verb
To roller skate.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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One day Frankie rollered up our drive and asked me if I fancied a skate.
Noun
a grounder that rolls along the infield
- Broader terms
a long heavy sea wave as it advances towards the shore
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
a small wheel without spokes (as on a roller skate)
- Broader terms
a cylinder that revolves
- Broader terms
a mechanical device consisting of a cylindrical tube around which the hair is wound to curl it
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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a woman with her head full of curlers is not a pretty sight
Old World bird that tumbles or rolls in flight; related to kingfishers
- Broader terms
pigeon that executes backward somersaults in flight or on the ground
- Synonyms
- Broader terms