roller

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roll·er¹

(rō′lər)

1. One that rolls or performs a rolling operation or activity.

2. Any of various cylindrical or spherical devices that roll or rotate, especially:

a. A small spokeless wheel, such as that of a roller skate or caster.

b. An elongated cylinder on which something, such as a window shade or towel, is wound.

c. A heavy revolving cylinder that is used to level, crush, or smooth.

d. Printing A cylinder, usually of hard rubber, used to ink the type before the paper is impressed.

e. A cylinder of wire mesh, foam rubber, or other material around which a strand of hair is wound to produce a soft curl or wave.

3. A long rolled bandage.

4. A heavy swelling wave that breaks on a coast.

5. A tumbler pigeon.

rol·ler²

(rō′lər)

1. Any of various Eurasian, African, or Australian birds of the genera Coracias and Eurystomus, characteristically having bright blue wings, stocky bodies, and hooked bills. They are noted for their habit of rolling and twisting in flight, especially during display flights.

2. A breed of canary kept for its soft, trilling song.

[German, from rollen, to roll, burble; see rollmops.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

roller

(ˈrəʊlə)

1. (Tools) a cylinder having an absorbent surface and a handle, used for spreading paint

2. (Tools) Also called: garden roller a heavy cast-iron cylinder or pair of cylinders on an axle to which a handle is attached; used for flattening lawns

3. (Horticulture) Also called: garden roller a heavy cast-iron cylinder or pair of cylinders on an axle to which a handle is attached; used for flattening lawns

4. (Physical Geography) a long heavy wave of the sea, advancing towards the shore. Compare breaker²

5. (Mechanical Engineering) a hardened cylinder of precision-ground steel that forms one of the rolling components of a roller bearing or of a linked driving chain

6. (Mechanical Engineering) a cylinder fitted on pivots, used to enable heavy objects to be easily moved; castor

7. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) printing a cylinder, usually of hard rubber, used to ink a forme or plate before impression

8. (Tools) printing a cylinder, usually of hard rubber, used to ink a forme or plate before impression

9. a cylindrical tube or barrel onto which material is rolled for transport or storage

10. any of various other cylindrical devices that rotate about a cylinder, used for any of various purposes

11. (Hairdressing & Grooming) a small cylinder, esp one that is heated, onto which a woman's hair may be rolled to make it curl

12. (Medicine) med a bandage consisting of a long strip of muslin or cheesecloth rolled tightly into a cylindrical form before application

13. (Horse Training, Riding & Manège) a band fastened around a horse's belly to keep a blanket in position

14. (Animals) any of various Old World birds of the family Coraciidae, such as Coracias garrulus (European roller), that have a blue, green, and brown plumage, a slightly hooked bill, and an erratic flight: order Coraciiformes (kingfishers, etc)

15. (Breeds) (often capital) a variety of tumbler pigeon that performs characteristic backward somersaults in flight

16. (Breeds) a breed of canary that has a soft trilling song in which the notes are run together

17. a person or thing that rolls

18. (Professions) Austral a man who rolls and trims fleeces after shearing

19. (Agriculture) Austral a man who rolls and trims fleeces after shearing

20. (Automotive Engineering) short for roadroller, steamroller

21. (Broadcasting) short for roller caption

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

roll•er¹

(ˈroʊ lər)

n.

1. one that rolls.

2. a cylinder, wheel, or caster on which something is rolled along.

3. a cylinder revolving on a fixed axis, esp. to aid the movement of something passed over or around it.

4. a cylinder on which something is rolled up: the roller of a window shade.

5. a hollow cylinder on which hair is rolled up for setting.

6. a cylinder for spreading, crushing, or flattening something.

7. a long, swelling wave.

[1375–1425]

roll•er²

(ˈroʊ lər)

n.

any of various medium-sized, often brightly colored Old World birds of the family Coraciidae, that tumble or roll over during display flights.

[1655–65; < German Roller, derivative of rollen to roll]

comber, breaker, roller - A long curving wave is a comber, a wave that curls over and dissolves into foam is a breaker, and a long wave moving steadily shoreward is a roller.

roller

[ˈrəʊləʳ]

A. N

1. (Agr, Tech) → rodillo m; (= road-roller) → apisonadora f; (= caster) → ruedecilla f; (for hair) → rulo m

2. (= wave) → ola f grande

B. CPD roller bandage N → venda f enrollada
roller blind N (Brit) → persiana f enrollable
roller coaster N → montaña f rusa
roller skate N → patín m (de ruedas)
roller towel N → toalla f de rodillo or sin fin
see also roller-skate, roller-skating

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

roller

[ˈrəʊlə^r] n

(gen) → rouleau m

(for hair) → bigoudi mroller blade roller-blade [ˈrəʊlə^rbleɪd] n → roller m
a pair of roller-blades → une paire de rollersroller-blade [ˈrəʊlə^rbleɪd] vi → faire du roller

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

roller

(for pressing, smoothing) → Rolle f; (= pastry roller) → Nudelholz nt; (for lawn, road, Ind) → Walze f; (= paint roller) → Rolle f

(for winding sth round) → Rolle f; (= hair roller) → (Locken)wickler m; to put one’s hair in rollers → sich (dat) → die Haare aufdrehen or eindrehen; with her rollers in → mit Lockenwicklern (im Haar)

(for moving things) → Rolle f; (log-shaped) → Rollklotz m

(= wave) → Brecher m

roller

roller bandage

n → Rollbinde f

roller bearing

n → Rollenlager nt

roller blind

n → Springrollo nt

roller coaster

n → Achterbahn f, → Berg-und-Tal-Bahn f; an emotional roller → eine gefühlsmäßige Berg-und-Tal-Fahrt

roller skate

n → Rollschuh m

roller-skate

vi → Rollschuh laufen; he rollerd down the street → er lief or fuhr mit seinen Rollschuhen die Straße entlang

roller-skater

n → Rollschuhläufer(in) m(f)

roller-skating

n → Rollschuhlaufen nt

roller towel

n → Rollhandtuch nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

roller

[ˈrəʊləʳ] n

a. (gen) → rullo, cilindro; (in metallurgy) → laminatoio; (roadroller) → rullo compressore; (castor) → rotella; (for hair) → bigodino

b. (wave) → cavallone m

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

roll¹

(rəul) noun

1. anything flat (eg a piece of paper, a carpet) rolled into the shape of a tube, wound round a tube etc. a roll of kitchen foil; a toilet-roll.

2. a small piece of baked bread dough, used eg for sandwiches. a cheese roll.

3. an act of rolling. Our dog loves a roll on the grass.

4. a ship's action of rocking from side to side. She said that the roll of the ship made her feel ill.

5. a long low sound. the roll of thunder.

6. a thick mass of flesh. I'd like to get rid of these rolls of fat round my waist.

7. a series of quick beats (on a drum).

verb

1. to move by turning over like a wheel or ball. The coin/pencil rolled under the table; He rolled the ball towards the puppy; The ball rolled away.

2. to move on wheels, rollers etc. The children rolled the cart up the hill, then let it roll back down again.

3. to form (a piece of paper, a carpet) into the shape of a tube by winding. to roll the carpet back.

4. (of a person or animal in a lying position) to turn over. The doctor rolled the patient (over) on to his side; The dog rolled on to its back.

5. to shape (clay etc) into a ball or cylinder by turning it about between the hands. He rolled the clay into a ball.

6. to cover with something by rolling. When the little girl's dress caught fire, they rolled her in a blanket.

7. to make (something) flat or flatter by rolling something heavy over it. to roll a lawn; to roll pastry (out).

8. (of a ship) to rock from side to side while travelling forwards. The storm made the ship roll.

9. to make a series of low sounds. The thunder rolled; The drums rolled.

10. to move (one's eyes) round in a circle to express fear, surprise etc.

11. to travel in a car etc. We were rolling along merrily when a tyre burst.

12. (of waves, rivers etc) to move gently and steadily. The waves rolled in to the shore.

13. (of time) to pass. Months rolled by.

ˈroller noun

1. any of a number of tube-shaped objects, or machines fitted with one or more such objects, for flattening, crushing, printing etc. a garden roller; a road-roller.

2. a small tube-shaped object on which hair is wound to curl it.

3. a small solid wheel or cylinder on which something can be rolled along.

4. a long large wave on the sea.

ˈrolling adjective

(of a landscape) having low hills and shallow valleys, without steep slopes.

ˈroller-skate noun

a skate with wheels instead of a blade. a pair of roller-skates.

verb

to move on roller-skates. You shouldn't roller-skate on the pavement.

ˈrolling-pin noun

a usually wooden roller for flattening out dough.

roll in verb

to come in or be got in large numbers or amounts. I'd like to own a chain store and watch the money rolling in.

roll up

1. to form into a roll. to roll up the carpet; He rolled up his sleeves.

2. to arrive. John rolled up ten minutes late.

3. (especially shouted to a crowd at a fair etc) to come near. Roll up! Roll up! Come and see the bearded lady!

roller

→ أُسْطُوَانَة váleček tromle Walze μπικουτί rodillo rulla rouleau valjak bigodino ローラー 굴림대 roller valse wałek rolo валик vals เครื่องบดถนน silindir trục lăn 滚筒

Where can we go roller skating? → Wo können wir Rollschuh laufen? → Missä voi rullaluistella? → Où peut-on faire du roller ? → Waar kunnen we rolschaatsen? → Hvor kan vi gå på rulleskøyter? → Onde nós podemos andar de patins? → Var kan man åka rullskridskor? → 哪儿能滑旱冰？

References in classic literature ?

The six men, all on one side of the stone, united their efforts to raise it to eight or ten inches from the ground, sweating and blowing, whilst a seventh got ready against there should be daylight enough beneath it to slide in the roller that was to support it.

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Here she found a group of girls watching Agatha and Jane, who were dragging a roller over the grass.

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He drew from the little case a square of plate glass, a little tube of thick ink, a rubber roller, and a few snowy white cards.

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She raced all over town on one roller skate, often cheated at `keeps,' but was such a quick shot one couldn't catch her at it.

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He had a vast coil of cord efficient for the purpose, which worked on a roller fixed on the parapet of the tower.

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He was named in meeting; the name tossed from roller to roller.

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And, the rollers now white from the lime, I'd just seen what was wrong.

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Suddenly, half-concealed in the tumult of the foaming rollers I made out awash, something enormous, rising and falling - something spread out like a burst of foam, but with a more bluish, more solid look.

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Her keel we had laid upon several rollers cut from small trees, the ends of the rollers in turn resting upon parallel tracks of long saplings.

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Then I saw the raging sea, and the rollers tumbling in on the sand-bank, and the driven rain sweeping over the waters like a flying garment, and the yellow wilderness of the beach with one solitary black figure standing on it-- the figure of Sergeant Cuff.

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There was a sudden crash and the car came to a halt, and the ingot toppled out upon a moving platform, where steel fingers and arms seized hold of it, punching it and prodding it into place, and hurrying it into the grip of huge rollers. Then it came out upon the other side, and there were more crashings and clatterings, and over it was flopped, like a pancake on a gridiron, and seized again and rushed back at you through another squeezer.

View in context

The sun might blaze overhead, the air be without a breath, the surface smooth and blue, but still these great rollers would be running along all the external coast, thundering and thundering by day and night; and I scarce believe there is one spot in the island where a man would be out of earshot of their noise.

Noun	1.	roller - a grounder that rolls along the infield ground ball, groundball, grounder, hopper - (baseball) a hit that travels along the ground
	2.	roller - a long heavy sea wave as it advances towards the shore rolling wave, roll moving ridge, wave - one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
	3.	roller - a small wheel without spokes (as on a roller skate) caster, castor - a pivoting roller attached to the bottom of furniture or trucks or portable machines to make them movable roller skate - a shoe with pairs of rollers fixed to the sole wheel - a simple machine consisting of a circular frame with spokes (or a solid disc) that can rotate on a shaft or axle (as in vehicles or other machines)
	4.	roller - a cylinder that revolves garden roller - heavy cast-iron cylinder used to flatten lawns paint roller - a roller that has an absorbent surface used for spreading paint platen - the roller on a typewriter against which the keys strike roller blind - a window shade that rolls up out of the way sprocket - roller that has teeth on the rims to pull film or paper through trundle - small wheel or roller cylinder - a solid bounded by a cylindrical surface and two parallel planes (the bases)
	5.	roller - a mechanical device consisting of a cylindrical tube around which the hair is wound to curl it; "a woman with her head full of curlers is not a pretty sight" curler, hair curler, crimper mechanical device - mechanism consisting of a device that works on mechanical principles
	6.	roller - Old World bird that tumbles or rolls in flight; related to kingfishers coraciiform bird - chiefly short-legged arboreal nonpasserine birds that nest in holes Coraciidae, family Coraciidae - rollers Coracias garrulus, European roller - common European blue-and-green roller with a reddish-brown back ground roller - Madagascan roller with terrestrial and crepuscular habits that feeds on e.g. insects and worms
	7.	roller - pigeon that executes backward somersaults in flight or on the ground tumbler pigeon, tumbler domestic pigeon - domesticated pigeon raised for sport or food

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