English Reference
noun · verb

rollback

n. · v.
US /ˈɹoʊɫˌbæk/ UK /ɹˈəʊlbæk/ roll·back UK spelling rollbacks

  1. 01 B2 Upper Intermediate

    n.the act of changing a rule or price back to how it was before.

    n.the reversal of a policy, regulation, or price change to a previous state.

    Simple

    The supermarket announced a rollback on milk prices to help families with rising costs.

    In context

    Environmental groups protested the government's proposed rollback of clean water regulations, fearing a return to higher pollution levels.

  2. 02 C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    n.returning a computer system or database to an earlier, safe version after an error.

    n.the operation of restoring a database or software system to a previous consistent state, typically after a failed transaction or update.

    Simple

    The system crash forced a rollback to the backup created last night.

    In context

    The DevOps team initiated an immediate rollback of the latest deployment after the monitoring tools detected a critical memory leak in production.

    reversionrestore
  3. 03 C2 Proficiency Technical Science

    n.a sudden, unplanned drop in power from a jet engine.

    n.an uncommanded reduction in the thrust of a jet engine, often resulting from a technical malfunction.

    Simple

    The pilot noticed an engine rollback during the climb and decided to return to the airport.

    In context

    Investigators determined that the crash was caused by a dual-engine rollback triggered by ice crystals entering the fuel system.

    power lossdeceleration
  4. 04 B2 Upper Intermediate

    v.to change something back to an earlier version or lower level.

    v.to restore a system, price, or regulation to a previous state. Transitive — requires a direct object.

    Simple

    The company decided to rollback the new software update because it was too slow.

    In context

    The administration plans to rollback several trade tariffs in an effort to ease diplomatic tensions with neighboring countries.


The noun is a deverbal from roll back. The verb is a back-formation from the noun despite being redundant to roll back.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Occasional
Updated