logrolling
noun
log·roll·ing
ˈlȯg-ˌrō-liŋ 
ˈläg-
1
[from a former American custom of neighbors assisting one another in rolling logs into a pile for burning]
: the exchanging of assistance or favors
specifically
: the trading of votes by legislators to secure favorable action on projects of interest to each one
2
: the rolling of logs in water by treading
also
: a sport in which contestants treading logs try to dislodge one another
Examples of logrolling in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This Stasi-worthy logrolling is how the media propagandize for the propagandist.
—
Armond White, National Review, 25 Oct. 2023
Our logrolling, our stumps and their politics, our fisheries, our Negroes and Indians, our boasts and our repudiations, the wrath of rogues and the pusillanimity of honest men, the northern trade, the southern planting, the western clearing, Oregon, and Texas, are yet unsung.
—Mark Edmundson, Harper’s Magazine , 12 Dec. 2022
Petitioners shouldn’t bundle unrelated issues together, a practice derisively known as logrolling.
—BostonGlobe.com, 26 Nov. 2019
Incarnate Word sophomore Ameer King hates the Cardinals’ logrolling drill.
—Greg Luca, ExpressNews.com, 21 Aug. 2019
This is political logrolling disguised as public necessity.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 3 Jan. 2019
Even with the stoutest of disclosures, this form of op-edding would smack of legal logrolling.
—Erik Wemple, Washington Post, 27 June 2018
But hey, everybody hates taxes, and why should this industry be cut out of the logrolling big barbecue of a bill that is largely based on the idea that tax cuts pay for themselves?
—Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 21 Dec. 2017
In many democracies, of course, logrolling is neither rare nor necessarily bad.
—Eduardo Mello, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2016
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Armond White, National Review, 25 Oct. 2023
Our logrolling, our stumps and their politics, our fisheries, our Negroes and Indians, our boasts and our repudiations, the wrath of rogues and the pusillanimity of honest men, the northern trade, the southern planting, the western clearing, Oregon, and Texas, are yet unsung.
—Mark Edmundson, Harper’s Magazine , 12 Dec. 2022
Petitioners shouldn’t bundle unrelated issues together, a practice derisively known as logrolling.
—BostonGlobe.com, 26 Nov. 2019
Incarnate Word sophomore Ameer King hates the Cardinals’ logrolling drill.
—Greg Luca, ExpressNews.com, 21 Aug. 2019
This is political logrolling disguised as public necessity.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 3 Jan. 2019
Even with the stoutest of disclosures, this form of op-edding would smack of legal logrolling.
—Erik Wemple, Washington Post, 27 June 2018
But hey, everybody hates taxes, and why should this industry be cut out of the logrolling big barbecue of a bill that is largely based on the idea that tax cuts pay for themselves?
—Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 21 Dec. 2017
In many democracies, of course, logrolling is neither rare nor necessarily bad.
—Eduardo Mello, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2016
Cite this Entry
“Logrolling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/logrolling. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
logrolling
noun
log·roll·ing
ˈlȯg-ˌrō-liŋ
ˈläg-
1
: the rolling of logs in water by treading
2
: the trading of votes by legislators to get favorable action on projects of interest to each
Legal Definition
logrolling
noun
log·roll·ing
ˈlȯg-ˌrō-liŋ, ˈläg-
: the practice of including in a legislative bill unrelated provisions to attract a wider base of support and insure passage of the bill as a whole
Etymology
from the former American custom of neighbors assisting one another in rolling logs into a pile for burning
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