eye roll

noun

variants or less commonly eye-roll
plural eye rolls also eye-rolls
: an upward turning of the eyes especially as an expression of annoyance, exasperation, disbelief, etc. : an instance of rolling the eyes
Historically, anyone who dares to give pro athletes mental advice—be they M.D.s, psychologists or shamans—often gets the eye roll or the pat on the back.Jaimal Yogis
Contempt, one of the emotions Gottman watches for at the Love Lab, is detectable through the … buccinator, which pulls the lip corners to the side and creates a distinctly uncute dimple; it's often combined with an upward eye roll.Casey Greenfield
His stories always took their time, his daughter said, and usually some winding turns, too. His family's eye-rolls only made him go slower.Peter Schworm
"Mom!" She gave me the parents-are-weird eye-roll. The truth is, though, she's proud of me.Katha Pollitt

Examples of eye roll in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Like McIntosh, Hunt, 65, is a grassroots political activist who still attends public meetings and protests in a face mask to guard against COVID-19, drawing eye rolls from McIntosh, who protested mask and vaccine mandates while Trump was president. Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2024 Hot mics allowed How Walz and Vance interact — handshake, eye rolls, cross-talk bickering, etc. — at Tuesday's debate will depend in part on the debate rules, and a significant difference from the Harris-Trump faceoff will be CBS News allowing hot microphones. Phillip M. Bailey, The Enquirer, 30 Sep. 2024 Hot mics allowed How Walz and Vance interact − handshake, eye rolls, cross-talk bickering − will depend in part on the debate rules, and a significant difference from the Harris-Trump faceoff will be CBS News allowing hot microphones. Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 30 Sep. 2024 The Mullins family, said Scales, wanted to always treat the museum sincerely, with reverence, and also the slightest eye roll. Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 27 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for eye roll 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eye roll.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of eye roll was in 1928

Dictionary Entries Near eye roll

Cite this Entry

“Eye roll.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eye%20roll. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!