What does scrolled mean?
Scrolled is the past tense and past participle of scroll, a word now used chiefly for moving through digital content. A reader or user scrolls when they move a webpage, document, menu, or list upward or downward, normally by means of a mouse wheel, trackpad, touchscreen, or keyboard control. The word can also describe the more general process of moving through a substantial amount of text or information: an investigator may scroll through records, while a reader may scroll through a collection of comments. Its figurative use suggests rapid or methodical movement over material, sometimes with the additional implication of searching for particular information. Although its modern usage is associated primarily with screens, the word ultimately derives from the older physical sense of a scroll, a rolled sheet of paper or parchment. Today, “scrolled” is especially frequent in descriptions of digital interfaces, online research, and extended reading.
verbTo move the contents of a screen or page vertically, usually with a wheel, trackpad, touch gesture, or keyboard control. In figurative use, it means to move through a sequence of text or information.
- To move through displayed content on a screen or page.
- To move through a lengthy text, document, or sequence of information.
"She scrolled through the report until she found the figure she needed."
"He scrolled to the bottom of the page to locate the submission button."
"The editor scrolled through the manuscript, searching for a repeated phrase."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does scrolled come from?
Scrolled is the usual past tense and past participle of scroll. The noun scroll entered English from Old French scroll, meaning a roll of paper or parchment, which in turn came from Late Latin scrolla. The verb’s modern computing sense developed from the earlier idea of moving or turning a physical roll, as when unrolling a document.
Related word forms
How scrolled is actually used
As the past tense and past participle of scroll, this form is especially common in computing and digital-interface contexts. The figurative sense of examining information at speed is now firmly established.
Easily confused with scrolled
Scrolled means moving through displayed content, whereas scrawled means writing hastily and messily.
Scrolled usually refers to moving screen content, while rolled more often describes physically rotating something into a rounded shape.