noun1. a cylinder having an absorbent surface and a handle, used for spreading paint
2. Also called: garden roller a heavy cast-iron cylinder or pair of cylinders on an axle to which a handle is attached; used for flattening lawns
3. a long heavy wave of the sea, advancing towards the shore
Compare breaker1 (sense 2) 4. a hardened cylinder of precision-ground steel that forms one of the rolling components of a roller bearing or of a linked driving chain
5. a cylinder fitted on pivots, used to enable heavy objects to be easily moved; castor
6. printing a cylinder, usually of hard rubber, used to ink a forme or plate before impression
7. a cylindrical tube or barrel onto which material is rolled for transport or storage
8. any of various other cylindrical devices that rotate about a cylinder, used for any of various purposes
9. a small cylinder, esp one that is heated, onto which a woman's hair may be rolledto make it curl
10. medicine a bandage consisting of a long strip of muslin or cheesecloth rolled tightly into a cylindrical form before application
11. a band fastened around a horse's belly to keep a blanket in position
12. any of various Old World birds of the family Coraciidae, such as Coracias garrulus (European roller), that have a blue, green, and brown plumage, a slightly hooked bill, and an erratic flight: order Coraciiformes (kingfishers, etc)
13. (often capital) a variety of tumbler pigeon that performs characteristic backward somersaults in flight
14. a breed of canary that has a soft trilling song in which the notes are run together
15. a person or thing that rolls
16. Australian a person who rolls and trims fleeces after shearing
17. short for roadroller, steamroller
18. short for roller caption