scroll
verbEtymology From Middle English scrowle, scrolle, from earlier scrowe, scrouwe (influenced by Middle English rolle), from Old French escroe, escrowe, escrouwe (“scroll, strip of parchment”), from Frankish *skrōda (“a shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudō, from *skrew- (“to cut; cutting tool”), extension of *(s)ker- (“to cut”). Doublet of shred and escrow.
Computing, Engineering, Graphical user interface, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Ambitransitive To change one's view of data on a computer's display by moving in gradual increments, typically using an input device or touch screen.
- She scrolled the offending image out of view.
- She kept scrolling until she found the desired paragraph.
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- Use the stylus to scroll up and down the list or flip through the pages left and right.2008, “PDA”, in Cory in the House: Instruction Booklet, Burbank, California: Disney Interactive Studios; Nintendo, page 10:
To move in or out of view horizontally or vertically.
- The rising credits slowly scrolled off the screen.
- The piano plays on. I watch those little rectangles as they scroll down from the top.2017, Patricia Taxxon, “Player Piano”, in Black and White:
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- Pavement scrolled beneath the headlight beams, reminding Emma of a conveyor belt.2018, Darrin Doyle, Scoundrels Among Us: Stories:
To continuously and aimlessly consume content on social media, especially on websites or apps with a scrolling feed, such as Instagram, TikTok, or X.
- With millions of creators worldwide, many of whom are generating income through brand partnerships, affiliate deals, and platform monetization, influencers are likely popping up any time you pick up a phone to scroll.2026 March 9, Cyrus Veyssi, “In Defense of Influencers”, in TIME, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2026:
Internet, Dated To flood a chat system with numerous lines of text, causing legitimate messages to scroll out of view before they can be read.
- Hey, stop scrolling!
- It's cool but i know why I prefer newsgroups : I just got banned for scrolling or summat : i was typing one word in each message so pppl^([sic]) could read it cos it was going so fast - geez.1998, rOOth, “Brain's chat”, in alt.music.queen (Usenet):
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- If you want to join this riot, we urge you to! You wont have to worry about being TOSed or reported because there will be no Guides online! So do whatever you want—punt, scroll, tos, just turn AOL into a war zone!2003, Michael Newton, The Encyclopedia of High-tech Crime and Crime-fighting, AOL Riot on June 1, 1998, page 21:
Obsolete To draft; to write in rough outline.
- Derived terms
- cheesymite scroll, doomscrolling, garlic scroll, infinite scroll, overscroll, push-scrolling, scroll bar, scroll-gall, scroll lock, scroll saw, scroll weight, scroll wheel, scrollytelling, side scroller, side-scrolling, Vitruvian scroll, wave scroll