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sweet roll

sweet roll

4 1.1
A small sweet bread made with yeast, often with cinnamon, nuts, or glaze
  • noun
  • /swit roʊl/
translation icon : rollo dulce
  • He orders coffee and a sweet roll.
  • coffee and sweet rolls
  • dozen sweet rolls
  • sweet rolls every morning

Examples

  • Man is a social animal and loves to hunker down with friends around a campfire or relax around a conference room table with a cup of coffee and a plate of fresh fruit and maybe a sweet roll from the meeting buffet.

    Blog text (15)
  • The plate of sweet rolls sat unmolested in the center of the long rectangular table.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Do you want a sweet roll?

  • Let's get a sweet roll.

  • Can you spare one of your sweet rolls?

  • I bought fresh, warm sweet rolls from the back door of a local bakery and ate them on the way.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The bag contained a half dozen sweet rolls, cheese, chocolate, and fruitcake.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Didn't you bring me any doughnuts or sweet rolls?

  • He welcomed Meredith with grace and old-world courtesy, pausing to make coffee and offer store-bought sweet rolls.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • On Sunday mornings, we often enjoy a freshly baked sweet roll with our coffee.

Synonyms

bun
vssweet roll
164 1.0

A small round bread roll that is plain or sweet

is specifically a sweet yeast-leavened version often containing raisins or glaze
sticky bun
vssweet roll
  • US
5 1.3

A sweet baked roll covered in sticky sugar and often nuts

is drier and less syrupy in texture
cinnamon roll
vssweet roll
5 1.0

A sweet baked roll of dough filled with cinnamon and sugar

is broader using various flavorings such as dried fruit or glaze
honey bun
vssweet roll
  • US
3 1.4

A sweet sticky pastry like a spiral roll flavored with honey and cinnamon

is not specifically sweetened with golden syrup and accepts various fillings
coffee roll
vssweet roll
3.4

A sweet yeast roll often made with spices, raisins or nuts and served with coffee

is not linked to a particular beverage or drinking occasion
pinwheel roll
vssweet roll
5.1

A sweet baked roll shaped like a pinwheel filled with jam and cinnamon sugar

is more general and may include dried fruit nuts spices or a glaze

How Sweet

sticky bun
  • US
5 1.3
danish
18 1.8
sweet roll
4 1.1
bun
164 1.0
hard roll
1 2.1

Surface Forms

sweet roll singular
sweet rolls plural

Morphology

sweet + roll

The meaning 'a small sweetened bread roll' is directly derivable from combining 'sweet' (having a sugary taste) with 'roll' (a small rolled/baked item). This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition following normal English patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand it.

Etymology

The compound noun sweet roll comes from a simple baking picture: a small roll made sweet with sugar, cinnamon, or a sticky glaze, often shaped in a warm spiral. That's why today it means 'a small, sweet bread often filled or glazed'.