scroll
Americannoun
-
scrolls
plural
-
a roll of parchment, paper, copper, or other material, especially one with writing on it.
a scroll containing the entire Old Testament.
-
something, especially an ornament, resembling a partly unrolled sheet of paper or having a spiral or coiled form.
-
a list, roll, roster, or schedule.
-
(in Japanese and Chinese art) a painting or text on silk or paper that is either displayed on a wall hanging scroll or held by the viewer hand scroll and is rolled up when not in use.
-
the curved head of a violin or other bowed instrument.
-
a note, message, or other piece of writing.
verb (used with object)
-
scrolls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scrolled,
past participle, past
-
scrolling
present participle
-
to cut into a curved form with a narrow-bladed saw.
-
Computers. to move (text) up, down, or across a display screen, with new text appearing on the screen as old text disappears.
verb (used without object)
-
scrolls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scrolled,
past participle, past
-
scrolling
present participle
noun
-
a roll of parchment, paper, etc, usually inscribed with writing
-
an ancient book in the form of a roll of parchment, papyrus, etc
-
-
a decorative carving or moulding resembling a scroll
-
( as modifier )
a scroll saw
-
( in combination )
scrollwork
-
verb
-
(tr) to saw into scrolls
-
to roll up like a scroll
-
computing to move (text) from right to left or up and down on a screen in order to view text that cannot be contained within a single display image
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scrollsimple
-
scrollssimple
-
have scrolledperfect
-
has scrolledperfect
-
am scrollingprogressive
-
are scrollingprogressive
-
is scrollingprogressive
-
have been scrollingperfect progressive
-
has been scrollingperfect progressive
Past
-
scrolledsimple
-
had scrolledperfect
-
was scrollingprogressive
-
were scrollingprogressive
-
had been scrollingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scroll
1350–1400; Middle English scrowle; blend of scrow, aphetic variant of escrow and rowle roll
Explanation
A rolled up piece of paper is a scroll. If you write a poem on a sheet of paper, roll it up, and tie it with a ribbon, you can call it a scroll. Before books existed, people wrote stories or important information on parchment or papyrus and rolled them into scrolls for easy storage and transport. Sometimes, a scroll would serve as a work of art, a decorated tale that would occasionally be unrolled and displayed. These days, when you scroll through something, you're probably reading it on a computer, moving down the screen.
Vocabulary lists containing scroll
Ancient Egypt - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Invictus"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Ancient Egypt - Middle School and High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Take a scroll through Instagram and TikTok, and you’ll see fan edit-style videos of Ossoff at campaign rallies and in Senate hearings.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
In preliminary findings, the European Commission said features such as infinite scroll, autoplaying videos and personalised recommendations could encourage "compulsive use", particularly among children and teens.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
“I’ll bring in my Switch. I’ll bring in my computer. I’ll play some games, do some work, scroll on my phone,” Butler said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Mr. Friedman runs the PitchingNinja account on X, an entertaining scroll of nasty pitches and baffled hitters he started in 2014.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Frantic, I hit the back arrow at the top of the touch screen and scroll down to our thread of messages.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
Sixty years after Nirmala waited a week to hear one Hindi song, her grandson Krish scrolls through Punjabi music on his phone in seconds.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
On our Zoom call, Herberhold scrolls through the TikTok feed she uses as a shell account to study the Com network.
From Slate ● May 12, 2026
She scrolls job advertisements online, fearful of internet scammers preying on her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
A little later in our conversation, he pulls out his phone, scrolls for a second, then hits play.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
Whenever he does these pieces, his answers require zero focus, so he normally hops on his phone and scrolls through Twitter and Instagram.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
A few days later, early in the morning, I got the acceptance email while I scrolled through my phone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
When Maitri Sanghvi scrolled through TikTok, "Japan just kept popping up," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Both were littered with sports events, which I scrolled past, but also had sections for elections, politics, tech and a lot more.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
Her voice broke as she scrolled through dozens of photos and videos on her phone.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
Coal scrolled through the files, but angry tears blurred his vision.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
You open FoodNeverComes, pick from 22 cuisines and start scrolling.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
“I was scrolling and the photo showed up on my Facebook. I knew it was Mahmoud, 100%,” Al-Drimly said in a phone interview.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
The changes are meant to stop kids from endlessly scrolling and prevent them from using the apps when they should be sleeping or paying attention in school instead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
It's a familiar pattern for many -- open your phone on a break and before you know it an hour has passed and you're still scrolling.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
“Um, sorry,” said Kojo, scrolling down his phone’s screen.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
