Definition

1. Verb:
   • To move downward by turning over and over on a slope, often accumulating mass as it moves.
   • To descend, especially in a rolling or tumbling motion, typically gathering more material along the way.

Usage

• This verb is used to describe the specific action of a mass (like snow, rocks, or debris) accumulating and moving downward on an incline due to gravity, often gaining size and momentum.
• It is typically used in the context of natural events or hazards.

Examples

• Verb:
  • After the avalanche warning, we watched the snow roll down the steep cliff face.
  • The loose rocks began to roll down the hillside, creating a dangerous landslide.

Advanced Usage

• "to roll down" can be used metaphorically to describe something decreasing or declining in a steady, unstoppable manner, though this is an extension from its core physical meaning.
  • The company's stock value continued to roll down despite intervention.

Variants and Related Words

• Roll (verb): To move by turning over and over.
• Avalanche (noun): A mass of snow, ice, and rocks falling rapidly down a mountainside.
• Landslide (noun): The sliding down of a mass of earth or rock from a mountain or cliff.

Synonyms

• Cascade down: To fall or flow in a cascade.
• Tumble down: To fall suddenly, clumsily, or headlong.
• Descend: To move or fall downward.

Phrasal Verbs

• Roll down is itself a phrasal verb with the specific meaning defined above. Other phrasal verbs with "roll" have distinct meanings (e.g., , , ).

Related Idioms

• While there is no direct idiom using "roll down," the concept is related to the idiom "snowball effect," which describes a process that starts small and grows larger and more significant as it continues, much like snow rolling down a hill.

Verb

1. gather into a huge mass and roll down a mountain, of snow