troll.
a giant supernatural being, especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.
Meaning & usage
a giant supernatural being, especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.
a giant supernatural being, especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges. A type of diminutive supernatural being; a dwarf.
An ugly or unpleasant person.
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.
A Michigander who lives on the mainland, i.e. not a resident of the Upper Peninsula, so named due to living south of the Mackinaw Bridge.
Where this word comes from
Partly: * from Middle English trol (“demon (?); sorcerer (?)”) [and other forms], from Old Norse trǫll (“conjurer, mage; witch”), from Proto-Germanic *truzlą (“supernatural being; demon, fiend; giant; monster”), probably from *trudaną (“to step on; to tread”) + *-ilą (suffix forming agent nouns); and * borrowed from Norwegian Bokmål troll, Swedish troll, or Danish trold, from Old Norse trǫll (see above). Doublet of droll and trow. Cognates * Danish fortrylle (“to bewitch”), trylle (“to conjure”) * Icelandic tröll * Middle High German trol, crewtrolle (“spook, wraith; ogre, monster”) * Norwegian fortrylle (“to bewitch”), trylle (“to conjure”) * Swedish trolla (“to conjure”)
Senses relating to a rolling motion. To move (something, especially a round object) by, or as if by, rolling; to bowl, to roll, to trundle.
Senses relating to a rolling motion. Often followed by in: to cause (something) to flow or roll in like a stream.
Senses relating to a rolling motion. To roll; also, to turn round and round; to rotate, to spin, to whirl.
Senses relating to a rolling motion. To move or walk at a leisurely pace; to ramble, to saunter, to stroll.
Senses relating to a rolling motion. Chiefly of a man: synonym of cruise (“to stroll about to find a (male) sexual partner”).
Senses relating to a rolling motion. Followed by in: to flow or roll in like a stream.
Senses relating to the motion of passing around. To sing the parts of (a catch, round, or similar song) in succession; also (generally), to sing (a song) freely or in a carefree way, or loudly.
Senses relating to the motion of passing around. To pass (something, specifically a bowl or other communal drinking vessel) from one person to another; to circulate, to send about.
Senses relating to the motion of passing around. Of bells: to ring a sequence of tones in a resounding manner.
Senses relating to the motion of passing around. Of a person: to sing the parts of a catch, round, or similar song in succession; also (generally), to sing freely or in a carefree way, or loudly.
Senses relating to the motion of passing around. Of a song: to be sung freely or in a carefree way, or loudly; also, of a tune: to be constantly in someone's mind.
Senses relating to the motion of passing around. Of a bowl or other communal drinking vessel, or the drink inside it: to be passed around from one person to another.
Senses relating to a light, quick motion. To say (something) lightly and quickly, or in a deep, resounding voice.
Senses relating to a light, quick motion. To move (the tongue) lightly and quickly when speaking.
Senses relating to a light, quick motion. To speak lightly and quickly, or in a deep, resounding voice.
Senses relating to a light, quick motion. To move lightly and quickly; especially of the tongue when speaking; to wag.
Senses relating to fishing. To fish in (a place) using a running fishing line (that is, a line with a hook on the end which is drawn along the water surface, possibly a line which would originally have been spooled on to a troll (etymology 2, noun etymology 2, noun sense 8.1)).
Senses relating to fishing. To attract or draw out (someone or something); to allure, to elicit, to entice, to lure.
Senses relating to fishing. To fish using a running fishing line.
Senses relating to fishing. To fish using a line and bait or lures trailed behind a boat similarly to trawling.
Senses relating to "fishing" for a reaction. To post irrelevant or inflammatory statements in an online discussion in an attempt to start a heated argument or to derail a conversation, either for one's personal entertainment or as part of an organized political campaign.
Don't pay attention to that guy, he's always trolling this board.
When an argument gets heated, it can often be difficult to figure out who's serious and who's just trolling.
Senses relating to "fishing" for a reaction. To persistently harass someone over the Internet.
Many people have been trolling me due to my activism, but I don't let it get to me.
Senses relating to "fishing" for a reaction. To prank, tease, or mess with someone in a lighthearted way.
The actress was widely trolled online after accidentally revealing that she didn't know the names of the continents.
Where this word comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English trollen (“to go about, wander; to move (something) to and fro, rock; to roll; to turn”) [and other forms], of uncertain origin; perhaps in part from Old French troller (“to run here and there; to walk aimlessly, ramble, stroll; (hunting) to wander about looking for game”) (modern French troller); further etymology uncertain, yet probably from or related to Middle High German trollen (“to stroll, walk with short strides”) (modern German trollen (“to move slowly, trundle; to push off, toddle off”)), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *truzlōną (“to lumber”), which is probably related to *trudaną (“to step on, tread”) (see further at etymology 1). Doublet of trull. Verb etymology 2, verb sense 4.2.2 (“to fish using a line and bait or lures trailed behind a boat”) is possibly influenced by trail and/or trawl. The noun is probably derived from the verb. Noun etymology 2, noun sense 4 (“person who makes or posts inflammatory or insincere statements in an attempt to lure others into combative argument”) is possibly influenced by troll (etymology 1). Cognates * Middle Low German drullen (“to stroll”) (Low German trullen (“to troll”))
An act of moving round; a repetition, a routine.
An act of fishing by using a running fishing line, or by trailing a line with bait or lures behind a boat.
A fishing line, bait, or lure used to fish in these ways.
An inflammatory or insincere statement posted in an attempt to lure others into combative argument (a flame war), originally a way for regulars (long-time users) to poke light-hearted fun at new posters (especially in Usenet newsgroups) and promote in-group cohesion ("trolling for newbies").
A person who makes or posts inflammatory or insincere statements in an attempt to lure others into combative argument for purposes of personal entertainment or to manipulate their perception, especially in an online community or discussion.
A person who sows discord, or spreads misinformation or propaganda, in order to promote an agenda as part of an organized political campaign.
A company, person, etc., that owns and legally enforces copyrights, patents, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights in an aggressive and opportunistic manner, often with no intention of commercially exploiting the subjects of the rights.
A song the parts of which are sung in succession; a catch, a round.
A small wheel; specifically (fishing), the reel or winch of a fishing line.
A trolley.
Obsolete form of trull (“a harlot”).
Where this word comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English trollen (“to go about, wander; to move (something) to and fro, rock; to roll; to turn”) [and other forms], of uncertain origin; perhaps in part from Old French troller (“to run here and there; to walk aimlessly, ramble, stroll; (hunting) to wander about looking for game”) (modern French troller); further etymology uncertain, yet probably from or related to Middle High German trollen (“to stroll, walk with short strides”) (modern German trollen (“to move slowly, trundle; to push off, toddle off”)), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *truzlōną (“to lumber”), which is probably related to *trudaną (“to step on, tread”) (see further at etymology 1). Doublet of trull. Verb etymology 2, verb sense 4.2.2 (“to fish using a line and bait or lures trailed behind a boat”) is possibly influenced by trail and/or trawl. The noun is probably derived from the verb. Noun etymology 2, noun sense 4 (“person who makes or posts inflammatory or insincere statements in an attempt to lure others into combative argument”) is possibly influenced by troll (etymology 1). Cognates * Middle Low German drullen (“to stroll”) (Low German trullen (“to troll”))
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.