unroll

U1N1R1O1L1L1

verb

To straighten something that has been rolled, twisted or curled.

“We will have to see how the events unroll.”

Similar
unwindwind offunfurl
OriginEnglish roll ← Middle English rollen ← Old French roeler →
UncommonScrabble 6
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Meanings

verbunroll (third-person singular simple present unrolls, present participle unrolling, simple past and past participle unrolled)

present singular third person unrolls · participle present unrolling · participle past unrolled · past unrolled

  1. transitiveTo straighten something that has been rolled, twisted or curled.

    Unroll your sleeping bag and spread it on the floor of the tent.

  2. intransitiveTo emerge, be revealed or become apparent; to unfold.

    We will have to see how the events unroll.

  3. transitivecomputingTo replace (a loop in a program) with a repetitive sequence of the individual instructions that the loop would carry out, sometimes used as an optimization.

    Synonyms: unwind

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo replace (a loop in a program) with a repetitive sequence of the individual instructions that the loop would carry out, sometimes used as an optimization.

Similar
unwind

More synonyms by meaning

verbreverse the winding or twisting of

Similar
unwindwind off
Broader
movedisplace

verbunroll, unfold, or spread out or be unrolled, unfolded, or spread out from a furled state

Similar
unfurl
Broader
change surface
Also see
unfurlunwindwind off

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts
  3. Proto-Germanic*anda-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*anda-
  5. Old Englishand-
  6. Old Englishon-
  7. Middle Englishon-
  8. Englishun-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*Hreth₂-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*Hróth₂eh₂
  11. Proto-Italic*rotā
  12. Latinrota
  13. Latinrotula
  14. Latinrotulāre
  15. Old Frenchroeler
  16. Middle Englishrollen
  17. Englishroll
  18. Englishunroll

From un- + roll.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

unroll. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unroll

MLA

“unroll.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unroll. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unroll,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unroll.

Source: unroll on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.