role

a part played by an actor; a function: the role of a wife

Not to be confused with:

roll – to turn; to throw as in dice; a small bread

role

(rōl)

1. also rôle A character or part played by a performer.

2. The characteristic and expected social behavior of an individual.

3. A function or position. See Synonyms at function.

4. Linguistics The function of a word or construction, as in a sentence.

[French rôle, from Old French rolle, roll of parchment (on which an actor's part was written), from Latin rotula, diminutive of rota, wheel; see roll.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

role

(rəʊl) or

rôle

1. (Theatre) a part or character in a play, film, etc, to be played by an actor or actress

2. (Psychology) psychol the part played by a person in a particular social setting, influenced by his expectation of what is appropriate

3. usual or customary function: what is his role in the organization?.

[C17: from French rôle roll, an actor's script]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

role

or rôle

(roʊl)

n.

1. a part or character played by an actor, singer, or other performer.

2. the proper or customary function of a person or thing.

3. the rights, obligations, and expected behavior patterns associated with a particular social status.

[1600–10; < French rôle roll (as of paper) containing the actor's part]

role

– roll

These words are both pronounced /rəʊl/.

1. 'role'

Your role is your position and what you do in a situation or society.

What is the role of the university in modern society?

He had played a major role in the formation of the United Nations.

A role is also one of the characters that an actor or singer plays in a film, play, opera, or musical.

She played the leading role in The Winter's Tale.

2. 'roll'

A roll is a very small loaf of bread.

The soup is served with a roll and butter.

A roll of something such as cloth or paper is a long piece of it wrapped many times around itself or around a tube.

I bought a roll of wallpaper.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	role - the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group; "the function of a teacher"; "the government must do its part"; "play its role" function, office, part duty - work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons; "the duties of the job" capacity - a specified function; "he was employed in the capacity of director"; "he should be retained in his present capacity at a higher salary" hat - an informal term for a person's role; "he took off his politician's hat and talked frankly" portfolio - the role of the head of a government department; "he holds the portfolio for foreign affairs" lieu, stead, place, position - the post or function properly or customarily occupied or served by another; "can you go in my stead?"; "took his place"; "in lieu of" second fiddle - a secondary role or function; "he hated to play second fiddle to anyone"
	2.	role - an actor's portrayal of someone in a play; "she played the part of Desdemona" persona, theatrical role, character, part personation, portrayal, characterization, enactment - acting the part of a character on stage; dramatically representing the character by speech and action and gesture bit part, minor role - a small role heavy - a serious (or tragic) role in a play hero - the principal character in a play or movie or novel or poem ingenue - the role of an innocent artless young woman in a play name part, title role - the role of the character after whom the play is named heroine - the main good female character in a work of fiction baddie, villain - the principal bad character in a film or work of fiction
	3.	role - what something is used for; "the function of an auger is to bore holes"; "ballet is beautiful but what use is it?" function, purpose, use usefulness, utility - the quality of being of practical use raison d'etre - the purpose that justifies a thing's existence
	4.	role - normal or customary activity of a person in a particular social setting; "what is your role on the team?" activity - any specific behavior; "they avoided all recreational activity" gender role - the overt expression of attitudes that indicate to others the degree of your maleness or femaleness; "your gender role is the public expression of your gender identity" position - (in team sports) the role assigned to an individual player; "what position does he play?"

role

noun

1. job, part, position, post, task, duty, function, office, capacity His role in the events has been pivotal.

2. part, character, representation, portrayal, impersonation Shakespearean women's roles

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

role

also rôle
noun

1. The proper activity of a person or thing:

function, job, purpose, task.

2. One's proper or expected function in a common effort:

part, piece, share.

Translations

دَوْرقائِم بِدَوْر

roleúloha

rollefunktion

rooli

uloga

szerep

hlutverk

ruolo funzione

役割

역할

loma

rola

vloga

uloga

roll

หน้าที่หรือบทบาท

rol

vai trò

角色作用职责

role

[rəʊl]

A. N (Theat, fig) → papel m
to cast sb in the role of (Theat, fig) → dar a algn el papel de
to play a role (Theat) → hacer un papel (fig) → desempeñar un papel (in en) supporting role → papel m secundario

B. CPD role model N → modelo m a imitar
role play(ing) N → juego m de roles
role reversal N → inversión f de papeles

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

role

rôle [ˈrəʊl] n

(= position, duty) → rôle m
He played a major role in the United Nations → Il a joué un rôle important aux Nations unies.

(in film, play) → rôle m
She played a leading role in his film → Elle a joué l'un des rôles principaux dans son film.role model n → modèle mrole-play role play [ˈrəʊlpleɪ] n (gen) → jeu m de rôle (PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHIATRY) → psychodrame mrole playing n → jeux mpl de rôlerole-playing game n

(gen) → jeu m de rôle

(COMPUTING) → jeu m de rôlerole reversal n → inversion f des rôles

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

role

n (Theat, fig) → Rolle f; in the role of Ophelia → in der Rolle der Ophelia; role reversal (Psych) → Rollentausch m

role

role model

n (Psych) → Rollenbild nt

role-playing

n → Rollenspiel nt

role swapping

n → Rollentausch m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

role

[rəʊl] n → ruolo

rôle,

role

(rəul) noun

1. a part played by an actor or actress in a play etc. He is playing the rôle of King Lear.

2. the actions or functions of a person in some activity. He played the rôle of peacemaker in the dispute.

role

→ دَوْر úloha rolle Rolle ρόλος papel rooli rôle uloga ruolo 役割 역할 rol rolle rola função роль roll หน้าที่หรือบทบาท rol vai trò 角色

role

n. [theatre] papel;

to play the ___ of → hacer el ___ de.

role

n papel m; — model modelo de conducta; — playing o play juegos de rol

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

It was this automatic assumption of a role that was considered imperative.

Incidentally, I may state that in my dual role I managed a few important things for the Revolution.

It was necessary for us to practise until our assumed roles became real; until to be our original selves would require a watchful and strong exercise of will.

View in context

Many of them were delicious in the role; one of them was the embodiment of every womanly grace and charm.

View in context

"Where would I not go at the countess' command!" said Denisov, who at the Rostovs' had jocularly assumed the role of Natasha's knight.

View in context

She leaned towards her neighbour on the other side and Major Thomson was able to resume the role of attentive observer, a role which seemed somehow his by destiny.

View in context

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger; I do not shrink from this responsibility.

View in context

I saw myself, too, from the dramatic standpoint, and I was pleased with my role of the trusted friend bringing back the errant husband to his forgiving wife.

View in context

It was neither warrior, nor lover, nor god; in none of these roles do the English excel.

View in context

'If the next role happens to be kontrabida type din, if it's a great role, I'll also do it again,' said the actor.

Sam Milby open to more villain roles

The attention will bedivided and the performance will at best be mediocre.Maintain constant vigil, give priority to the role that the situation demandsand also ensure that there is no intermixing of roles.

Try to play your role toPerfection

The AMVCAs winner made this known when speaking about her role in a movie, The Guest, which also starred, Femi Jacobs and Somkele Iyamah.

I Like Movie Roles That Scare Me -Rita Dominic