rolenoun [ C ]
uk/rəʊl/us/roʊl/role noun [ C ] (DUTY)
B2 the position or purpose that someone or something has in a situation, organization, society, or relationship:
What is his role in this project?
Schools play an important role in society.
Six people have been put on trial for their role (= involvement) in the anti-government demonstrations.
More examples
- Your role in the project will be strictly defined.
- The role of the police is to ensure (that) the law is obeyed.
- Television has an important role to play in popularizing new scientific ideas.
- The government should be playing a more prominent role in promoting human rights.
- The kidney plays a vital role in the removal of waste products from the blood.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Organizations - position & status
- a rung on/of the ladder idiom
- apparatchik
- associate
- back seat
- be a big fish in a small pond idiom
- betters 2
- brethren
- comrade
- echelon
- entry level
- entry-level
- equal
- fellow
- founder
- low-level
- position
- second class
- senior
- standing
- subordinate
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Duty, obligation and responsibility
role noun [ C ] (ACTING)
B1 an actor's part in a film or play:
She's got a leading/supporting role in the school play.
She plays the role of a crooked lawyer.
More examples
- She quickly left the chorus for a starring role.
- She's done all the important Shakespearean roles apart from Lady Macbeth.
- Marlene Dietrich was immortalized through her roles in movies like 'The Blue Angel'.
- The six principal roles in this opera have an average vocal range of two octaves.
- In despair, the theatre director recast the leading role.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Cinema & theatre: casting, roles & scripts
- bill
- billing
- bit part
- cameo
- cast
- casting couch
- dame
- dialogue
- dramatis personae
- dramatize
- opposite
- pantomime horse
- principal boy
- script
- scripted
- scriptwriter
- supporting
- theatre
- walk-on part
- write sb out of sth
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