hay

[ hey ]

/ heɪ /

noun

grass, clover, alfalfa, etc., cut and dried for use as forage.

grass mowed or intended for mowing.

Slang.

a small sum of money: Twenty dollars an hour for doing very little certainly ain't hay.
money: A thousand dollars for a day's work is a lot of hay!

Slang. marijuana.

verb (used with object)

to convert (plant material) into hay.

to furnish (horses, cows, etc.) with hay.

verb (used without object)

to cut grass, clover, or the like, and store for use as forage.

Idioms for hay

a roll in the hay, Slang. sexual intercourse.

hit the hay, Informal. to go to bed: It got to be past midnight before anyone thought of hitting the hay.

in the hay, in bed; retired, especially for the night: By ten o'clock he's in the hay.

make hay of, to scatter in disorder; render ineffectual: The destruction of the manuscript made hay of two years of painstaking labor.

make hay while the sun shines, to seize an opportunity when it presents itself: If you want to be a millionaire, you have to make hay while the sun shines. Also make hay.

Origin of hay

before 900; Middle English; Old English hēg; cognate with German Heu, Old Norse hey, Gothic hawi. See hew

OTHER WORDS FROM hay

hay·ey, adjective un·hayed, adjective

Words nearby hay

hawthorn, hawthorne, hawthorne effect, hawthorne, nathaniel, hawthornesque, hay, hay fever, hay rake, hay shock, hay-pauncefote treaty, hay-scented fern

Definition for roll in the hay (2 of 2)

roll

[ rohl ]

/ roʊl /

verb (used without object)

to move along a surface by revolving or turning over and over, as a ball or a wheel.

to move or be moved on wheels, as a vehicle or its occupants.

to flow or advance in a stream or with an undulating motion, as water, waves, or smoke.

to extend in undulations, as land.

to elapse, pass, or move, as time (often followed by on, away, or by).

to move as in a cycle (usually followed by round or around): as soon as summer rolls round again.

to perform a periodical revolution in an orbit, as a heavenly body.

to emit or have a deep, prolonged sound, as thunder, drums, etc.

to trill, as a bird.

to revolve or turn over, once or repeatedly, as a wheel on an axis or a person or animal lying down.

to turn around in different directions or in a circle, as the eyes in their sockets.

(of a vessel)

to rock from side to side in open water.Compare heave(def 14b), pitch¹(def 20).
to sail with a side-to-side rocking motion.

to walk with a swinging or swaying gait.

Informal. to begin to move or operate; start; commence: Let's roll at sunrise.

Informal. to go forward or advance without restrictions or impediments: The economy is finally beginning to roll.

to curl up so as to form a tube or cylinder.

to admit of being formed into a tube or cylinder by curling up.

to be spread out after being curled up (usually followed by out).

to spread out as under a roller: The paint rolls easily.

Aviation. (of an aircraft or rocket) to deviate from a stable flight attitude by rotation about its longitudinal axis.

verb (used with object)

to cause to move along a surface by revolving or turning over and over, as a cask, a ball, or a hoop.

to move along on wheels or rollers; convey in a wheeled vehicle.

to drive, impel, or cause to flow onward with a sweeping or undulating motion: The wind rolled the waves high on the beach.

to utter or give forth with a full, flowing, continuous sound: rolling his orotund phrases.

to trill: to roll one's r's.

to cause to revolve or turn over or over and over: to roll oneself on one's face.

to cause to sway or rock from side to side, as a ship.

to wrap (something) around an axis, around upon itself, or into a cylindrical shape, ball, or the like: to roll string.

to make by forming a tube or cylinder: to roll a cigarette.

to spread out flat (something curled up) (often followed by out): He rolled the map out on the table.

to wrap, enfold, or envelop, as in some covering: to roll a child in a blanket.

to spread out, level, smooth, compact, or the like, as with a rolling pin, roller, the hands, etc.: to roll dough; to roll a tennis court.

to form (metal) in a rolling mill.

to tumble (metal pieces and abrasives) in a box or barrel in such a way that their relative positions remain the same.

to beat (a drum) with rapid, continuous strokes.

(in certain games, as craps) to cast, or throw (dice).

Printing. to apply (ink) with a roller or series of rollers.

Slang. to rob, especially by going through the pockets of a victim who is either asleep or drunk.

noun

a document of paper, parchment, or the like, that is or may be rolled up, as for storing; scroll.

a list, register, or catalog, especially one containing the names of the persons belonging to a company, class, society, etc.

anything rolled up in a ringlike or cylindrical form: a roll of wire.

a number of papers or other items rolled up together.

a length of cloth, wallpaper, or the like, rolled up in cylindrical form (often forming a definite measure).

a cylindrical or rounded mass of something: rolls of fat.

some article of cylindrical or rounded form, as a molding.

a cylindrical piece upon which something is rolled along to facilitate moving.

a cylinder serving as a core upon which something is rolled up.

a roller with which something is spread out, leveled, crushed, smoothed, compacted, or the like.

Cookery.

thin cake spread with jelly or the like and rolled up.
a small cake of bread, originally and still often rolled or doubled on itself before baking.
meat rolled up and cooked.

the act or process or an instance of rolling.

undulation, as of a surface: the roll of a prairie.

a sonorous or rhythmical flow of words.

a deep, prolonged sound, as of thunder: the deep roll of a breaking wave.

the trill of certain birds, especially of the roller canary.

the continuous sound of a drum rapidly beaten.

a rolling motion, as of a ship.

a rolling or swaying gait.

Aerospace.

a single, complete rotation of an airplane about the axis of the fuselage with little loss of altitude or change of direction.
(of an aircraft or rocket) the act of rolling.
the angular displacement caused by rolling.

Informal.

paper currency carried folded or rolled up: He took out an impressive roll and paid the check with a $100 bill.
bankroll; funds: People were encouraged to shoot their rolls on mining speculation.

(in various dice games)

a single cast of or turn at casting the dice.
the total number of pips or points made by a single cast; score or point.

Verb Phrases

roll back, to reduce (the price of a commodity, wages, etc.) to a former level, usually in response to government action.

roll in, Informal.

to luxuriate in; abound in: rolling in money.
to go to bed; retire: They would roll in later and later every night.
to mix and average the cost of (a higher-priced commodity or item) with that of a cheaper one so as to increase the retail price.
to add: Labor wants to roll in periodic increases with their wage demands.
to arrive, especially in large numbers or quantity: When do my dividends start rolling in?

roll out,

to spread out or flatten: to roll out dough.
Informal. to arise from bed; get up: It was nearly impossible to roll out on the first day back after vacation.
Football. to execute a rollout.
Informal. to introduce; unveil: a TV advertising campaign to roll out the new car.

roll over,

Business. to reinvest funds, especially a tax-free transfer of assets from one retirement plan to another.
to overturn: The truck rolled over, and the driver hung by her seatbelt.
to turn over: I rolled over in my sleep and nearly fell out of bed.

roll up,

to accumulate; collect: to roll up a large vote.
to increase.
to arrive in a conveyance: He rolled up to the front door in a chauffeur-driven limousine.

Origin of roll

1175–1225; (noun) (in senses referring to rolled or round objects) Middle English: scroll, inscribed scroll, register, cylindrical object < Old French ro(u)lle < Latin rotulus, rotula small wheel, diminutive of rota wheel (see rotate¹, -ule); (in senses referring to motion) derivative of the v.; (v.) Middle English rollen < Old French rol(l)er < Vulgar Latin *rotulare, derivative of Latin rotulus, rotula

SYNONYMS FOR roll

1 revolve, rotate.

3 wave, undulate.

4 undulate.

12 swing, tilt.

40 See list¹.

47 spindle.

OTHER WORDS FROM roll

roll·a·ble, adjective re·roll, verb un·roll·a·ble, adjective well-rolled, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH roll

role roll

British Dictionary definitions for roll in the hay (1 of 4)

hay ¹

/ (heɪ) /

noun

grass, clover, etc, cut and dried as fodder
(in combination)a hayfield; a hayloft

hit the hay slang to go to bed

make hay of to throw into confusion

make hay while the sun shines to take full advantage of an opportunity

roll in the hay informal sexual intercourse or heavy petting

verb

to cut, dry, and store (grass, clover, etc) as fodder

(tr) to feed with hay

Word Origin for hay

Old English hieg; related to Old Norse hey, Gothic hawi, Old Frisian hē, Old High German houwi; see hew

British Dictionary definitions for roll in the hay (2 of 4)

hay ²

hey

/ (heɪ) /

noun

a circular figure in country dancing

a former country dance in which the dancers wove in and out of a circle

Word Origin for hay

C16: of uncertain origin

British Dictionary definitions for roll in the hay (3 of 4)

Hay

/ (heɪ) /

noun

Will. 1888–1949, British music-hall comedian, who later starred in films, such as Oh, Mr Porter! (1937)

British Dictionary definitions for roll in the hay (4 of 4)

roll

/ (rəʊl) /

verb

to move or cause to move along by turning over and over

to move or cause to move along on wheels or rollers

to flow or cause to flow onwards in an undulating movement billows of smoke rolled over the ground

(intr) (of animals, etc) to turn onto the back and kick the hills roll down to the sea

(intr) to extend in undulations the hills roll down to the sea

(intr usually foll by around) to move or occur in cycles

(intr) (of a planet, the moon, etc) to revolve in an orbit

(intr ; foll by on, by, etc) to pass or elapse the years roll by

to rotate or cause to rotate wholly or partially to roll one's eyes

to curl, cause to curl, or admit of being curled, so as to form a ball, tube, or cylinder; coil

to make or form by shaping into a ball, tube, or cylinder to roll a cigarette

(often foll by out) to spread or cause to spread out flat or smooth under or as if under a roller to roll the lawn; to roll pastry

to emit, produce, or utter with a deep prolonged reverberating sound the thunder rolled continuously

to trill or cause to be trilled to roll one's r's

(intr) (of a vessel, aircraft, rocket, etc) to turn from side to side around the longitudinal axis Compare pitch 1 (def. 11), yaw (def. 1)

to cause (an aircraft) to execute a roll or (of an aircraft) to execute a roll (sense 40) (of an aircraft) to execute or cause an aircraft to execute a roll (def. 41)

(intr) to walk with a swaying gait, as when drunk; sway

(intr often foll by over) (of an animal, esp a dog) to lie on its back and wriggle while kicking its legs in the air, without moving along

(intr) to wallow or envelop oneself (in)

(tr) to apply ink to (type, etc) with a roller or rollers

to throw (dice)

(intr) to operate or begin to operate the presses rolled

(intr) informal to make progress; move or go ahead let the good times roll

(tr) informal, mainly US and NZ to rob (a helpless person, such as someone drunk or asleep)

(tr) slang to have sexual intercourse or foreplay with (a person)

start the ball rolling or set the ball rolling to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)

noun

the act or an instance of rolling

anything rolled up in a cylindrical form a roll of newspaper

an official list or register, esp of names an electoral roll

a rounded mass rolls of flesh

a strip of material, esp leather, fitted with pockets or pouches for holding tools, toilet articles, needles and thread, etc

a cylinder used to flatten something; roller

a small loaf of bread for one person: eaten plain, with butter, or as a light meal when filled with meat, cheese, etc

a flat pastry or cake rolled up with a meat (sausage roll), jam (jam roll), or other filling See also swiss roll

a swell, ripple, or undulation on a surface the roll of the hills

a swaying, rolling, or unsteady movement or gait

a deep prolonged reverberating sound the roll of thunder

a rhythmic cadenced flow of words

a trilling sound; trill

a very rapid beating of the sticks on a drum

a flight manoeuvre in which an aircraft makes one complete rotation about its longitudinal axis without loss of height or change in direction

the angular displacement of a vessel, rocket, missile, etc, caused by rolling

a throw of dice

a bookbinder's tool having a brass wheel, used to impress a line or repeated pattern on the cover of a book

slang an act of sexual intercourse or petting (esp in the phrase a roll in the hay)

US slang an amount of money, esp a wad of paper money

on a roll slang experiencing continued good luck or success

strike off the roll or strike off the rolls

to expel from membership
to debar (a solicitor) from practising, usually because of dishonesty

See also roll in, roll off, roll on, roll out, roll over, roll up

Word Origin for roll

C14 rollen, from Old French roler, from Latin rotulus a little wheel, from rota a wheel

Idioms and Phrases with roll in the hay (1 of 3)

roll in the hay

Sexual intercourse, as in The main character in the movie was always looking for a roll in the hay. This phrase alludes to secret lovemaking in a hayloft. [Slang; mid-1900s]

Idioms and Phrases with roll in the hay (2 of 3)

hay

see hit the hay; make hay while the sun shines; roll in the hay; that ain't hay.

Idioms and Phrases with roll in the hay (3 of 3)

roll

In addition to the idioms beginning with roll

roll around
roll back
roll in
rolling stone
roll in the aisles
roll in the hay
roll out
roll over
roll the bones
roll up
roll up one's sleeves
roll with the punches

also see:

easy as pie (rolling off a log)
get rolling
get the ball rolling
heads will roll
on a roll
red carpet

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

hay

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for hay

Origin of hay

OTHER WORDS FROM hay

Words nearby hay

Definition for roll in the hay (2 of 2)

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of roll

SYNONYMS FOR roll

OTHER WORDS FROM roll

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH roll

British Dictionary definitions for roll in the hay (1 of 4)

noun

verb

Word Origin for hay

British Dictionary definitions for roll in the hay (2 of 4)

hey

noun

Word Origin for hay

British Dictionary definitions for roll in the hay (3 of 4)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for roll in the hay (4 of 4)

verb

noun

Word Origin for roll

Idioms and Phrases with roll in the hay (1 of 3)

Idioms and Phrases with roll in the hay (2 of 3)

Idioms and Phrases with roll in the hay (3 of 3)