roller

Universal Words noun 1 a piece of wood, metal or plastic, shaped like a tube, that rolls over and over and is used in machines, for example to make sth flat, or to move sth: the heavy steel rollers under the conveyor belt * a roller blind (= a blind for a window that is wound on a roller) * a roller towel (= a long piece of towel on a roller, usually used in a public place) 2 (often in compounds) a machine or piece of equipment with a part shaped like a tube so that it rolls backwards and forwards. It may be used for making sth flat, crushing or spreading sth: Flatten the surface of the grass with a roller. * a paint roller seealsoSTEAMROLLER 3 a piece of wood or metal, shaped like a tube, that is used for moving heavy objects: We'll need to move the piano on rollers. 4 a long, powerful wave in the sea/ocean: Huge Atlantic rollers crashed onto the rocks. 5 a small plastic tube that hair is rolled around to give it curls SYNCURLER: heated rollers * Her hair was in rollers. seealsoHIGHROLLER