Home US English roll up

Definition of roll up in English:

roll up

See synonyms for roll up

Translate roll up into Spanish

phrasal verb

  • 1(of a person or animal) curl up tightly.

    • ‘at the sight of the wolf, the porcupine rolls up into a ball’

  • 2roll something up, roll up somethingTurn something flexible over and over on itself to form a cylinder, tube, or ball.

    ‘she started to roll up her sleeping bag’
    • ‘add avocado and roll up the tortilla’
    fold, fold up, furl, wind up, coil, coil up, bundle up
    View synonyms
    1. 2.1Fold the edge of a garment over on itself a number of times to shorten it.
      • ‘she rolled up her sleeves to wash her hands’

  • 3Make a car window or a window blind move up.

    • ‘he rolled up the window and sped off’

  • 4informal Casually arrive at a place.

    • ‘we rolled up at the same time’
    • ‘The bus rolls up to the porticoed entrance, literally bypassing the parking and traffic problems that the foundation's neighbors have been suing about.’
    • ‘One afternoon, while writing their names in wet cement, a car rolls up beside them and a man, claiming to be a cop, steps out.’
    • ‘With perfect timing, friendly Mick Taylor rolls up in his truck to save the day - except that the three young tourists are about to be led on a horrific journey into outback Australia's wildest heart of darkness.’
    • ‘When she rolls up to the house of the preternaturally nasty John at one point in the film, she seems genuinely surprised at his explosive reaction to her sudden intrusion.’
    • ‘On the verge of his big break, Austin is house-sitting his mother's home in LA when Lee rolls up out of the desert like a bad mirage.’
    arrive, come, turn up, appear, make in an appearance, put in an appearance, show one's face
    View synonyms

  • 5British in imperative Used to encourage passers-by to look at or participate in something, typically at a fairground.

    • ‘roll up, roll up, for all the fun of the fair’

  • 6roll something up, roll up somethingMilitary
    Drive the flank of an enemy line back and around so that the line is shortened or surrounded.

    ‘We had arrived in a great position to roll them up from the flank.’
    • ‘Unable to roll the line up, Rommel needed to break through it to get supplies to his armour, fighting hard to its east.’
    • ‘The most dangerous situation is to be drawn deep in among buildings where the enemy can ambush the attack and roll it up.’