Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

role

/ɹoʊl/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.16 in modern English

Syllables: role
IPA: /ɹoʊl/

4

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A character or part played by a performer or actor.

noun

The expected behaviour of an individual in a society.

noun

The function or position of something.

noun

Designation that denotes an associated set of responsibilities, knowledge, skills, or privileges

noun

The function of a word in a phrase.

noun

In the Raku programming language, a code element akin to an interface, used for composition of classes without adding to their inheritance chain.

noun

An ancient unit of quantity, 72 sheets of parchment.

Example Sentences

"My neighbor was the lead role in last year's village play."
"Her dream was to get a role in a Hollywood movie, no matter how small."
"The role of women has changed significantly in the last century."
"Local volunteers played an important role in cleaning the beach after the oil spill."
"What role does the wax in your earhole fulfill?"
"In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual."

Etymology

From French rôle, from Middle French rolle, from Old French role, from Medieval Latin rotulus. Doublet of roll and rotulus.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: rôle, rolle, role, rotulus

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ɹoʊl/
British English: /ɹəʊl/

Inflected Forms

roles (plural) rôle (alternative, dated)

Derived Forms

multirole rerole roled roleless roleplay roleplayer

Phrases

bit role breeches role gender role gender-role massively multiplayer online role-playing game pants role play a role role activity diagram

Synonyms

capacity function office part purpose use character theatrical role persona

Homonyms

roll (toe–tow merger) roll

Rhymes With

whole control goal self-control soul roll hole bowl rock-and-roll coal poll sole

Questions

How do you pronounce role?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɹoʊl/.
What does role mean?: A character or part played by a performer or actor.
Where does role come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce role

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “role”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɹoʊl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “role”.
Repeat and practice — Say “role” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.