roll down

Related to roll down: curtailment

roll down

1. To move or travel down (something) in a rolling motion, on wheels, or atop or inside of something with wheels. If you're forced to change a flat tire on an incline, you need to make sure the handbrake is on and the other wheels are firmly blocked off to stop the car from rolling down the hill in the middle of the job. The toddler delighted in carrying the ball up the hill and then watching it roll down again.
2. To cause someone or something move or travel down (something) in a rolling motion, on wheels, or atop or inside of something with wheels. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "roll" and "down." I got inside of the big tractor wheel while the others rolled me down the hill. We set up a series of planks so we could roll the heavy wheelbarrow down to the work site.
3. To travel over the length of something in a rolling motion, on wheels, or atop or inside of something with wheels. She kicked the ball so hard that it rolled down to the other side of the field. I love rolling down the road in my convertible, feeling the sun on my skin and the wind in my hair.
4. To cause someone or something to travel over the length of something in a rolling motion, on wheels, or atop or inside of something with wheels. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "roll" and "down." I'm so terrible at bowling. I just keep rolling the ball down the gutter! I loved sitting in the shopping cart as a kid while my mom or dad rolled me down the aisles.
5. To move to a lower position as a result of crank being turned or activated. I'm not sure why my window isn't rolling down. The audience cheered as the curtain rolled down.
6. To cause something move to a lower position by turning or activating a crank. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "roll" and "down." Would you mind rolling down the windows? It's really hot in here! They rolled the curtains down to cut off the comedian in the middle of his controversial act.
7. To pass to people in a lower position of a hierarchy. You need to be sure that the desires of the upper management roll down clearly to the lower-level managers and employees, or there is going to be friction between the different departments of the company. These orders came rolling down from the highest authorities in the military.
See also: down, roll
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

roll something down something

to cause something to move down along something, rotating it like a wheel or a ball. Claire rolled the bowling ball down the alley for a strike. Roll the barrel down the ramp carefully. It is heavy.
See also: down, roll

roll something down

 
1. to move something down, making it rotate like a wheel or a ball, or moving it on wheels. Don't carry the ball down; roll it down! I rolled down the ball as you asked.
2. to crank down something, such as a car window. Please roll the window down and get some air in this car. Please roll down the car window.
See also: down, roll

roll down something

to move downward, along something, rotating, as a wheel or a ball, or moving downward on wheels. The ball rolled down the hall to the end. The cart went rolling down the hill all by itself.
See also: down, roll

roll down

to move downward, rotating, as a wheel or a ball, or to move downward on wheels. I pushed the wagon up the driveway, and it rolled down again. Don't place the cart at the top of the hill. It will roll down.
See also: down, roll
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • roll to
  • roll to (someone or something)
  • roll off
  • roll along
  • roll by
  • roll on
  • roll on (something)!
  • roll off of (someone or something)
  • roll onto
  • roll onto (someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
"When they sank, they would hit the slope and just roll down." Their average depth is 30 feet, and the low oxygen content of the water there "preserves wood beautifully," he explains.
Salvaging Superior logs
Galileo therefore allowed balls to roll down inclined planes.
Falling bodies
The spread trades 37K and is likely a roll down in strikes (13K rolled yesterday as well) as shares fall for a third day, now down 4.1% since Monday.
Size spreads in iShares Emerging Markets Fund as shares slip
The car had been set alight inside and the handbrake had burnt through allowing it to roll down the hill.
Pregnant woman's burning car drama; Torched stolen vehicle rolls down hill into house
The left-hander eventually had to place his ball on a steep downslope and after it was declared "in play" by a rules official, watched it roll down the bank to the edge of the green.
Golf: Leader salvages a par at the first; THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
The huge EuroMillions jackpot on Friday, February 9, cannot roll over - so, if the jackpot isn't won, it will roll down to the next winning prize level.
must be won this Friday! pounds 66 million in associationwithThe National Lottery EURO MILLIONS
More than an incredibly powerful narrative history and a scathing indictment of the Klan's racist terrorism, Until Justice Rolls Down is a moving tribute to the dedicated prosecutors and law enforcement officials who would not rest until they could cause "justice to roll down like water." No student of American history and the civil rights movement can afford to miss this important book.
Sikora, Frank. Until Justice Rolls Down: The Birmingham Church Bombing Case
Roll down the car window and gob it into the street.
3am: Spitney Spears
I roll down the street straight cruisin' on my board chillin'.
Poet's Corner
If the African-American church embraces charitable choice, it will no longer be able to go to Bethel and cry: "Let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream."
The Bush `Faith-Based' Initiative: Don't Muffle The Church's Prophetic Voice
So, as the travelers who carry valises gradually pick up the pace, become more frantic and bound, leap, and cavort on the stairs, it's both natural and funny to see them lug skis, bikes, et cetera, and even to roll down in a horizontal stack of tires, or snowboard as if on a slope.
Diavolo Dance Theater
Soon after Pathfinder lands, a six-wheeled rover the size of a milk crate will roll down a ramp from the mother ship.
Return to the Red Planet; tiny rover set to explore Mars
The interest was rolling out of a 50K lot of Jan 50 calls at that time and now the position is being adjusted again - this roll down in strike prices expresses confidence that shares can rebound in the months ahead.
Devon Energy draws a large call spread
Tears, snot and goodness knows what else roll down her cheeks in Anthony Minghella's much-loved drama about a woman learning to cope with the death of her boyfriend.
Choice