ROLE definition: 1. the position or purpose that someone or something has in a situation, organization, society, or…. Learn more.

Understanding the Context

The plain English spelling has entirely supplanted the old spelling in modern usage; I wouldn't be at all surprised if more than ninety percent of the occurrences of rôle in the past fifty years were in discussions of whether to use rôle or role when writing. A role is one of the characters that an actor or singer can play in a movie, play, or opera. She has just landed the lead role in their latest production. The meaning of ROLE is a character assigned or assumed.

Key Insights

How to use role in a sentence. ROLE definition: a part or character played by an actor or actress. See examples of role used in a sentence. meaning - What is the distinction between “role” and “rôle” [with a ... A role is a part you play.

Final Thoughts

In school, you might take on the role of clown, in your family, the role of the responsible one, on stage, the role of Juliet. A role (also rôle or social role) is a set of connected behaviors, rights, obligations, beliefs, and norms as conceptualized by people in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behavior and may have a given individual social status or social position. A role is a comprehensive pattern of behavior that is socially recognized, providing a means of identifying and placing an individual in a society. It also serves as a strategy for coping with recurrent situations and dealing with the roles of others (e.g., parent–child roles).