rollback

1 of 2

noun

roll·​back ˈrōl-ˌbak 

: the act or an instance of rolling back

a government-ordered rollback of gasoline prices

roll back

2 of 2

verb

rolled back; rolling back; rolls back

transitive verb

1

: to reduce or decrease something

rolling back their mortgage rates

specifically : to reduce (something, such as a commodity price) to or toward a previous level on a national scale

2

: to cause to retreat or withdraw : push back

3

: rescind

attempted to roll back antipollution standards

Synonyms of rollback

Verb

• abolish
• repeal
• cancel
• set aside
• avoid
• strike down
• overturn

Examples of rollback in a Sentence

Noun

a government-ordered rollback of gasoline prices

a rollback in environmental regulations

a rollback of previous wage concessions

Verb

lobbyists for the industry pressured the legislators to roll back the new automotive safety standards

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Environmental and public health groups called the rollbacks dangerous and vowed to challenge the rules in court. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026

Course designer Leopoldo Palacios’s influential track featured a rollback to the water tray — a bit of trickery that Palacios had famously used at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and had shelved since. — Tilly Berendt, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Verb

On the operational side, are there clear escalation paths, and can a human quickly roll back an unexpected action? — Rajesh Gharpure, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026

These included rolling back childhood vaccine requirements, threatening to demolish the Kennedy Center, and attacking mail-in voting. — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1937, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1942, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for rollback

• aback
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback
• cutback