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role

/ɹoʊl/
noun

ROLE meaning: a part played by an actor, or a function someone fills. The four-letter word scores 4 points in Scrabble.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Noun 4 meanings

  1. A character or part played by a performer or actor.

    “My neighbor was the lead role in last year's village play.”

  2. The expected behaviour of an individual in a society.

    “The role of women has changed significantly in the last century.”

  3. The function or position of something.

    “Local volunteers played an important role in cleaning the beach after the oil spill.”

  4. Designation that denotes an associated set of responsibilities, knowledge, skills, or privileges

    “The project manager role is responsible for ensuring that everyone on the team knows and executes his or her assigned tasks.”

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

From French rôle, from Middle French rolle, from Old French role, from Medieval Latin rotulus. Doublet of roll and rotulus.

Similar and opposite words

Similar
capacity

ROLE covers a stage part, a position in society and a job description, and it sounds exactly like ROLL. It ranks 687th in English frequency with a count of 21,813. Four tiles, all worth 1 point, make it a quick low-risk play.

ROLE quick facts

  • Letters: E, L, O and R, all worth 1 point.
  • Base Scrabble value: 4 points.
  • Three anagrams: LORE, ORLE and EORL.
  • 24 one-letter neighbours, including RULE, ROSE, ROLL and ROPE.
  • About 13 percent of four-letter words end in E.

Which spelling is which, ROLE or ROLL?

They sound the same but mean different things. ROLE is a part or function; ROLL is a bread item, a turning motion or a list of names. Both are four-letter words and both score 4.

Because they differ by one letter, each is a neighbour of the other. If you hold ROLE and the board offers a spot ending in L, you may be able to rebuild a row around ROLL, and the reverse works just as well.

Which ROLE anagram should you play?

LORE is the one to remember: it means traditional knowledge and every list accepts it. ORLE and EORL are heraldry and Old English terms, valid in Collins and risky elsewhere, so test them against your game's dictionary first.

Since all three anagrams score 4 as well, choose by board position. Both LORE and ROLE end in E, so either fits an open slot at the end of a row. The difference only matters for what you leave behind.

Why do so many words sit one letter from ROLE?

A short word built of common consonants and vowels sits next to many others. Swap the first letter and you get HOLE, SOLE, POLE or MOLE; swap the second and you reach RULE or RILE. With 24 neighbours, ROLE is a flexible hook when you need to turn a plain tile into a new word.

Rhymes with role

All rhymes

One letter away

Change one letter, keep the rest

Questions people ask

Is role a valid Scrabble word?
Yes. ROLE is accepted in Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE. It is worth 4 points, one for each tile. Its anagram LORE and neighbour RULE are equally easy to play, and all score the same 4 points.
What are the anagrams of role?
ROLE has three anagrams: LORE, ORLE and EORL. LORE is the everyday word. ORLE and EORL are specialist terms from heraldry and early English, so they are better held back for dictionaries that you know accept them.
How common is role in English?
ROLE is common, ranked 687 in English frequency with a count of 21,813. That puts it well inside everyday vocabulary, and the word sees heavy use in work, film and sport writing.

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