roller

¹

[ roh-ler ]

noun

1. a person or thing that rolls.
2. a cylinder, wheel, caster, or the like, upon which something is rolled along.
3. a cylindrical body, revolving on a fixed axis, especially one to facilitate the movement of something passed over or around it.
4. a cylindrical object upon which something is rolled up:

   the roller of a window shade.

5. a hollow, cylindrical object of plastic, stiff net, or the like, upon which hair is rolled up for setting.
6. a cylindrical body for rolling over something to be spread out, leveled, crushed, smoothed, compacted, impressed, inked, etc.
7. any of various other revolving cylindrical bodies, as the barrel of a music box.
8. Metalworking. a person in charge of a rolling mill.
9. a long, swelling wave advancing steadily.

   Synonyms: comber, breaker

10. a rolled bandage.

roller

²

[ roh-ler ]

noun

, Ornithology.

1. any of several Old World birds of the family Coraciidae that tumble or roll over in flight, especially in the breeding season.
2. tumbler ( def 9 ).
3. one of a variety of canaries having a warbling or trilling song.

roller

/ ˈrəʊlə /

noun

1. a cylinder having an absorbent surface and a handle, used for spreading paint
2. Also calledgarden roller a heavy cast-iron cylinder or pair of cylinders on an axle to which a handle is attached; used for flattening lawns
3. a long heavy wave of the sea, advancing towards the shore Compare breaker 1
4. a hardened cylinder of precision-ground steel that forms one of the rolling components of a roller bearing or of a linked driving chain
5. a cylinder fitted on pivots, used to enable heavy objects to be easily moved; castor
6. printing a cylinder, usually of hard rubber, used to ink a forme or plate before impression
7. a cylindrical tube or barrel onto which material is rolled for transport or storage
8. any of various other cylindrical devices that rotate about a cylinder, used for any of various purposes
9. a small cylinder, esp one that is heated, onto which a woman's hair may be rolled to make it curl
10. med a bandage consisting of a long strip of muslin or cheesecloth rolled tightly into a cylindrical form before application
11. a band fastened around a horse's belly to keep a blanket in position
12. 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)
13. often capital a variety of tumbler pigeon that performs characteristic backward somersaults in flight
14. a breed of canary that has a soft trilling song in which the notes are run together
15. a person or thing that rolls
16. a man who rolls and trims fleeces after shearing
17. short for roadroller steamroller
18. short for roller caption

Word History and Origins

Origin of roller¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; roll ( def ) + -er ¹( def )

Origin of roller²

First recorded in 1675–85; from German Roller, derivative of rollen to roll

Example Sentences

Seen that way, friendships are love affairs, if platonic ones — and just as much of a roller coaster as romantic ones.

From Los Angeles Times

Welcome to the roller coaster.

From Slate

The NHS TV and radio campaign features a man watching his partner struggling to smile while watching TV, a decorator suddenly unable to lift a paint roller, and a grandmother struggling to read her grandchild a bedtime story.

From BBC

Jennings wrote in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece Friday that he “nearly upchucked a time or two” riding “the Republican Party’s roller coaster” with Trump.

From Los Angeles Times

“If you’re on the expectation roller coaster — it’s going to be this way or that way, everything is going to burn up or be wonderful — it takes its toll.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crest
• flood
• influx
• movement
• outbreak
• rash
• rush
• sign
• stream
• surge
• swell
• tide
• upsurge