troll
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A giant supernatural being.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
trohlIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɹoʊl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
originally scandinavian mythologynow also european folklore and fantasy
A giant supernatural being, especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.
Scandanavian folklore
A supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains
fishing
A fishing line, bait, or lure used to fish in these ways.
by extensionastronomymeteorology
An optical ejection from the top of the electrically active core region of a thunderstorm that is red in colour and seems to occur after tendrils of vigorous sprites extend downward towards cloudtops.
by extensionderogatoryslang
An ugly or unpleasant person.
An act of moving round; a repetition, a routine.
verb
Speak or recite rapidly or in a rolling voice
Cause to move round and round
Circulate, move around
transitive
To move (something, especially a round object) by, or as if by, rolling; to bowl, to roll, to trundle.
intransitive
To roll; also, to turn round and round; to rotate, to spin, to whirl.
intransitive
To move or walk at a leisurely pace; to ramble, to saunter, to stroll.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A giant supernatural being, especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.
Used this way, troll is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use troll
- “He used a spinner as his troll.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Word Family
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.