roller

1 of 2

noun (1)

roll·​er ˈrō-lər 

1

a

: a revolving cylinder over or on which something is moved or which is used to press, shape, spread, or smooth something

b

: a cylinder or rod on which something (such as a shade) is rolled up

2

a

: a long heavy ocean wave

b

: tumbler sense 1b

3

: one that rolls or performs a rolling operation

4

: a slowly rolling ground ball

roller

2 of 2

noun (2)

rol·​ler ˈrō-lər 

1

: any of various mostly brightly colored nonpasserine Old World birds (family Coraciidae) that perform rolling aerial dives during courtship displays

2

: a canary having a song in which the notes are soft and run together

Examples of roller in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But his only other hit over the past three games came on a slow roller Pete Alonso misread at first base. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024

Wellness event with yoga, hip hop dance cardio and DJed roller skating. —Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 13 Oct. 2024

One end holds a small roller for hard-to-reach areas like the eye contour; a larger roller on the other end targets the cheeks and the forehead. —Lauren Valenti, Vogue, 4 Oct. 2024

In December 2021, the Fixer Upper star shared a post to Instagram showing off her roller skating skills at her family's Waco, Texas farm. —Mackenzie Schmidt, People.com, 2 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

German, from rollen to roll, reverberate, from Middle French roller — more at roll

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

1678, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing roller

• high roller
• leaf roller
• road roller
• rock and roller
• roller bearing
• roller coaster
• roller rink
• roller skate
• roller towel
• stone roller

Kids Definition

roller

noun

roll·​er

ˈrō-lər

1

a

: a turning cylinder over or on which something is moved or which is used to press, shape, spread, or smooth something

b

: a rod on which something (as a map or a shade) is rolled up

c

: a small wheel (as of a roller skate)

2

: a long heavy wave on the sea

3

: one that rolls or rolls over

Medical Definition

roller

see tongue roller