Meanings
plural rollbacks
- countableuncountableA return to a prior state by undoing some operation, especially of policy or price changes.
Although Mr. Trump has billed his rollback as a boon to the auto industry, automakers say the split-market outcome would be a logistical and financial nightmare for them.
2019 April 10, Coral Davenport, “Automakers Plan for Their Worst Nightmare: Regulatory Chaos After Trump’s Emissions Rollback”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 27 Aug 20192 more examples
The mining industry also had a hand in two other rollbacks. One was a decision to withdraw a Clinton rule that reduced by 80 percent the permissible standard for arsenic in drinking water.
2001 April 8, “Environmental Rollbacks”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 18 Feb 2022A bidder that knows it may acquire power at a lower price if it withdraws demand early will be more inclined to do so than a bidder that knows it cannot cause a price rollback.
2004, Paul Robert Milgrom, Putting Auction Theory to Work, page 19- countableuncountableA withdrawal of military forces.
- countableuncountablecomputingAn operation which returns a database, or group of records in a database, to a previous state (normally to the previous commit point).
Near-synonyms: reversion, revert (sometimes synonymous)
- countableuncountableThe situation where a rollercoaster fails to reach the top of a hill and instead rolls backward.
- countableinformaluncountableautomotiveA form of flatbed truck adapted or designed specifically to carry other vehicles, for use in recovery (wrecking, salvage) or for transporting.
Near-synonym: tow truck (loosely often synonymous)
Synonyms: slide truck, tow truck[Appendix:Glossary
- countableuncountablepolitical scienceThe strategy of forcing a change in the major policies of a state, usually by replacing its ruling regime, or by totally annihilating an enemy's armed forces and occupying the country, as was done in World War II to Italy, Germany, and Japan.
During the 1990s the Pope, who played such a central role in the rollback of communism, was one of the few international figures who could be heard speaking out against the new capitalist order.
2004 December 16, Seumas Milne, “The struggle is no longer against religion, but within it”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 12 Feb 20211 more example
Politically, Brzezinski was a centrist, or conservative, Democrat. He criticised both the Eisenhower administration’s “rollback” policy towards communism in Europe, and the Nixon-Kissinger detente.
2017 May 28, Godfrey Hodgson, “Zbigniew Brzezinski obituary”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 31 Jul 2020Synonyms: regime change
- countableuncountableaeronauticsAn uncommanded reduction in the thrust of a jet engine.
1 more example
The data was examined with respect to oil pressure. This showed that both the left and right engines' oil pressure generally follow each other until the start of the final acceleration, which resulted in first the right and then the left engines rolling back. The left engine oil pressure rose, as expected, as the engine accelerated: the right engine pressure, however, started to decrease, even though the engine was also accelerating prior to its rollback. Whilst, this observation, on the right engine, was based on only a few data points, it can be inferred that this was due to an oil temperature increase at, or close to, the start of the final acceleration. However, the loss of QAR data so close to the left engine rollback meant that it was not possible to draw a similar conclusion for the left engine.
2010 February 9, Air Accidents Investigation Branch, “1.11.3 Engine oil recorded data”, in Report on the accident to Boeing 777-236ER, G-YMMM, at London Heathrow Airport on 17 January 2008, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022, page 44
present singular third person rollbacks · participle present rollbacking · participle past rollbacked · past rollbacked
- intransitiveaeronauticsTo reduce thrust without having been commanded to do so.
1 more example
The first test involved placing the restriction immediately upstream of the FOHE. As it was known that the engine would almost certainly rollback during the first acceleration attempt, only the fourth accident acceleration was attempted: the rollback occurred as predicted. Testing was also conducted with the restriction at the LP pump inlet, with the rollback also occurring as predicted during the fourth acceleration.
2010 February 9, Air Accidents Investigation Branch, “1.16.4.2 Full-scale engine testing (L12)”, in Report on the accident to Boeing 777-236ER, G-YMMM, at London Heathrow Airport on 17 January 2008, archived from the original on 12 Apr 2022, page 92
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn operation which returns a database, or group of records in a database, to a previous state (normally to the previous commit point).
nounA form of flatbed truck adapted or designed specifically to carry other vehicles, for use in recovery (wrecking, salvage) or for transporting.
nounThe strategy of forcing a change in the major policies of a state, usually by replacing its ruling regime, or by totally annihilating an enemy's armed forces and occupying the country, as was done in World War II to Italy, Germany, and Japan.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
The noun is a deverbal from roll back. The verb is a back-formation from the noun despite being redundant to roll back.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 撤退, 回滾 /回滚
- 撤退 (chètuì)withdrawal of military forces
- 回滾 /回滚 (huígǔn)(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- 反轉 /反转 (fǎnzhuǎn)return to a prior state
Finnish vetäytyminen, palautus aiempaan tilaan
- vetäytyminenwithdrawal of military forces
- palautus aiempaan tilaan(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- palautus(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- peruutus(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- paluureturn to a prior state
French retrait, rollback
- retraitwithdrawal of military forces
- rollback(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
German Entzug, Rollback
- Entzugwithdrawal of military forces
- Rollback(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- Rollbackreturn to a prior state
Hebrew הסגה, שחזור
- הסגה (hasagá)(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- שחזור (shikhzúr)(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
Italian retromarcia, ritirata
- retromarciawithdrawal of military forces
- ritiratawithdrawal of military forces
- arretramentowithdrawal of military forces
- arretramentoreturn to a prior state
- retrocessionereturn to a prior state
Japanese 引き出し, ロールバック
- 引き出し (hikidashi)withdrawal of military forces
- ロールバック (rōrubakku)(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- 巻き返し (makikaeshi)return to a prior state
Polish wycofanie się, odwrót
- wycofanie sięwithdrawal of military forces
- odwrótwithdrawal of military forces
- rollback(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- doktryna odpychaniastrategy of forcing a change in the major policies of a state
- cofnięciereturn to a prior state
- powrótreturn to a prior state
Russian вы́вод, отво́д
- вы́вод (vývod)withdrawal of military forces
- отво́д (otvód)withdrawal of military forces
- отка́т (otkát)(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- возвра́т к нача́лу транза́кции (vozvrát k načálu tranzákcii)(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- роллбэ́к (rollbɛ́k)(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- ролбэ́к (rolbɛ́k)(computing) operation to return the database to the previous commit point
- отка́т (otkát)return to a prior state
- отме́на (otména)return to a prior state
- возвраще́ние к про́йденной то́чке (vozvraščénije k prójdennoj tóčke)return to a prior state
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
rollback. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rollback
“rollback.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rollback. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rollback,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rollback.
Source: rollback on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.