Roll out

Roll out

Today’s expression is a phrasal verb, roll out. Roll out. You heard that companies like Bird, Lime and Spin are rolling out electric scooter programs in cities across the United States. That means they are introducing these programs; they are starting them up. You can use “roll out” when you are starting a new product, service, or initiative—or, like in the case of the scooters, when you bring an existing business to a new place.

Let me give you some more examples. Lyft is a ridesharing company like Uber. They are rolling out a subscription service, where you pay a flat amount per month for unlimited rides instead of paying by the ride. They are introducing this new service, so we say they are rolling it out. Think back to the last time you went to a McDonald’s. Did you see anything different about the ordering process? You might have, if you’ve been to one of their new locations. That’s because McDonald’s is rolling out new self-service kiosks, where you order on a touch screen instead of with a person. They are rolling out the kiosks, meaning they are introducing them, or starting them out.

Google rolled out a new version of Gmail recently; not all users have the new format, but pretty soon all of us will. It’s a redesigned Gmail home page, with better connections to Google’s calendar and other functions. Google is rolling it out gradually, meaning that it will be available to people in waves, rather than all at once.

It doesn’t always have to be from the world of business. Governments roll out new initiatives all the time. In the United States, the first lady Melania Trump rolled out a new initiative to combat bullying among children in school.

That’s all from chilly, rainy Chicago today. I just got back from a week in Mexico. I was stuck in a conference room working for most of the week, but I still got to enjoy a little bit of the sun and warm weather. But it’s back to chilly, rainy Chicago—at least until summer arrives in a few weeks.

Thank you so much for listening and being part of Plain English. We will be back again with a new episode on Monday. Make sure you catch all of the episodes by clicking “follow” in Spotify or “subscribe” in Apple Podcasts. Monday’s topic will be the end of the ETA separatist group in the Basque country of Spain. See you then.