2. To wrap round on itself; to form into a spherical or
cylindrical body by causing to turn over and over; as, to
roll a sheet of paper; to roll parchment; to roll clay or
putty into a ball.
3. To bind or involve by winding, as in a bandage; to inwrap;
-- often with up; as, to roll up a parcel.
4. To drive or impel forward with an easy motion, as of
rolling; as, a river rolls its waters to the ocean.
The flood of Catholic reaction was rolled over
Europe. --J. A.
Symonds.
5. To utter copiously, esp. with sounding words; to utter
with a deep sound; -- often with forth, or out; as, to
roll forth some one's praises; to roll out sentences.
Who roll'd the psalm to wintry skies. --Tennyson.
6. To press or level with a roller; to spread or form with a
roll, roller, or rollers; as, to roll a field; to roll
paste; to roll steel rails, etc.
7. To move, or cause to be moved, upon, or by means of,
rollers or small wheels.
8. To beat with rapid, continuous strokes, as a drum; to
sound a roll upon.
9. (Geom.) To apply (one line or surface) to another without
slipping; to bring all the parts of (one line or surface)
into successive contact with another, in suck manner that
at every instant the parts that have been in contact are
equal.
10. To turn over in one's mind; to revolve.
Full oft in heart he rolleth up and down The beauty
of these florins new and bright. --Chaucer.
2. Moving on wheels or rollers, or as if on wheels or
rollers; as, a rolling chair.
3. Having gradual, rounded undulations of surface; as, a
rolling country; rolling land. [U.S.]
{Rolling bridge}. See the Note under {Drawbridge}.
{Rolling circle of a paddle wheel}, the circle described by
the point whose velocity equals the velocity of the ship.
--J. Bourne.
{Rolling fire} (Mil.), a discharge of firearms by soldiers in
line, in quick succession, and in the order in which they
stand.
{Rolling friction}, that resistance to motion experienced by
one body rolling upon another which arises from the
roughness or other quality of the surfaces in contact.
{Rolling mill}, a mill furnished with heavy rolls, between
which heated metal is passed, to form it into sheets,
rails, etc.
{Rolling press}.
(a) A machine for calendering cloth by pressure between
revolving rollers.
(b) A printing press with a roller, used in copperplate
printing.
{Rolling stock}, or {Rolling plant}, the locomotives and
vehicles of a railway.
{Rolling tackle} (Naut.), tackle used to steady the yards
when the ship rolls heavily. --R. H. Dana, Jr.