Definition of "troll"

troll¹

/tɹɒl/

noun
plural trolls
1. (fantasy) A supernatural being of varying size, now especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.
  Quotations
  He followed their advice, and rode through a rye-field, where the Trolls were unable to follow him, but in their exasperation cried after him, "The red cock shall crow over thy dwelling." And behold! his house stood in a blaze.
  1851, Benjamin Thorpe, Northern Mythology, volume II, page 7
  "Will you have a sausage, pussy?" said one of the trolls, and threw a hot frog right into the bear's jaw.
  1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 150
  In these manuscripts we are again in an atmosphere of eotens and trolls, there are traces of even older terrors, when the first Teuton settlers in Europe struggled with the aborigines who lived in caves[.]
  1922, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, The Old English Herbals, page 3
  The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.
  2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55
2. (slang) An ugly person of either sex, especially one seeking sexual experiences.
  Quotations
  The way Torchie had talked about him, I expected him to be some kind of troll. But he could have passed for one of those actors who makes a couple of movies, gets real popular with the girls for a year or two, and then vanishes from sight.
  2007, David Lubar, Hidden Talents
  In this work, the abject object - a sculpture of a fat, hairy woman - is heartbreakingly comforted by a text that claims the artist's love and desire to protect the 'ugly' troll.
  2009, Judy Chicago, Sarah Quinton, Jenni Sorkin, When Women Rule the World: Judy Chicago in Thread
  She sulked as we returned downstairs, her own more colorful clothes stuffed into her bright green shoulder bag. “I just wish I didn't have to dress like such a troll.”
  2010, Linda Francis Lee, The Devil in the Junior League
  Sharon had no desire to talk to Alora Magee, but she was happy to get out of her cell and away from that disgusting troll and her irritating voice.
  2011, R.E. Donald, Ice on the Grapevine
  Edwin Baer was an ugly troll of a man. He stood just about five feet, six inches and maybe weighed 140 pounds soaking wet.
  2012, James Classi, Heatseeker, page 26
  I liked one of the girls, Sarah, but her mate, the troll, was a total bitch from hell, probably because guys only fancied Sarah, so we hung out whilst the troll was obviously scheming how to steal my money.
  2012, Thomas Appleby, Life in the Harsh Lane: The Nine Lives, Mishaps, and Adventures of a No-body, page 186
  So if you're hoping to get a fuck, you'll be out of luck, Hideous hag, You are an ugly troll,
  2014, Rock Rampant, Mauve Flush, page 280
3. (astronomy, meteorology) Optical ejections from the top of the electrically active core regions of thunderstorms that are red in color that seem to occur after tendrils of vigorous sprites extend downward toward the cloud tops.

troll²

/tɹɒl/

verb
third-person singular simple present trolls, present participle trolling, simple past and past participle trolled
1. (intransitive) To saunter.
2. (intransitive) To trundle, to roll from side to side.
3. (transitive, figuratively) To draw someone or something out, to entice, to lure as if with trailing bait.
  Quotations
  It was necessary to troll them along two years with the hope of employing their usual methods, in order to get them to a place too far from their starting-point for retreat.
  1906, Thomas William Lawson, “Fools and Their Money: Some After-Claps of Frenzied Finance”, in Everybody's Magazine, volume XIV, number 5, page 690
4. (intransitive, fishing, by extension) To fish using a line and bait or lures trailed behind a boat similarly to trawling; to lure fish with bait.
  Quotations
  Their young men […] trolled along the brooks that abounded in fish.
  1834–1874, George Bancroft, History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent
5. (transitive) To angle for with a trolling line, or with a hook drawn along the surface of the water; hence, to allure.
  Quotations
  My flies alone disturbed the placid waters. A half-grown-up lad, who was standing behind me on the bank, advised me to "troll with bait" — a cluster of worms fastened to the hook, which is dragged in jerks over the surface of the water — and offered to find the bait for me.
  1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 153
6. (transitive) To fish in; to try to catch fish from.
  Quotations
  With patient angle trolls the finny deep.
  1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […]; reprinted London: Elliot Stock, 1885,
7. (slang, intransitive) To stroll about in order to find a sexual partner.
8. (transitive, intransitive, originally Internet slang) To post or make inflammatory or insincere statements so as to attempt to lure others into combative argument for purposes of personal entertainment or to manipulate others' perception, especially in an online community or discussion.
  Quotations
  I trolled, and no one bit! [title]
  1993 October 11, “danny burstein”, “I trolled, and no one bit!”, in alt.folklore.urban‎ (Usenet)
  There are plenty of commenters who disagree with me vehemently, and are also valued members of the community; if you find yourself unsure as to how to leave a comment without trolling, try asking yourself WWFD (What Would Freddie Do?). Remember, Smokey the Bear says, "Only you can prevent flame wars".
  2008 July 12, Megan McArdle, “Note to trolls”, in The Atlantic‎
  Could you be trolling and believe in it at the same time?
  2020, Emily Segal, Mercury Retrograde, New York: Deluge Books
noun
plural trolls
1. An instance of trolling, especially, in fishing, the trailing of a baited line.
2. (originally Internet slang) A person who posts or says inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages to provoke others on the Internet for their own personal amusement.
  Quotations
  Katie Hopkins: My Fat Story 9pm, TLC. The professional troll and one-time Apprentice stirrer piles on the pounds in order to shed them in this two-part doc, which feels at times like an overly long This Morning item.
  2014 December 19, “Friday 2 January's best TV”, in The Guardian‎
  From there, attacking people head-on — though almost always cloaked in anonymity — wasn’t a big leap. And so much more on the internet became like a game, only the score consisted of attention, outrage or approval from like-minded trolls.
  2016 June 8, Quentin Hardy, “How Gaming Helped Launch the Attack of the Internet Trolls”, in New York Times‎
  It was the place you went, shrouded in anonymity, for pornography, hard-core racism, revenge porn, Nazi cheerleading, Jew-baiting, creepshots, fat-shaming, mindless anarchy and pictures of dead kids or of women who had been beaten. If anyone bothered to look, Reddit was proof that on the internet, the trolls were in charge.
  2018 October 30, David Streitfeld, “Where Trolls Reigned Free: A New History of Reddit”, in New York Times‎
3. (by extension, politics) Someone who sows discord, promotes misinformation, or spreads propaganda in order to promote an agenda as part of an organized political compaign.
  Quotations
  Already, U.S. operatives in both parties have made early efforts at using trolls for political gain. Rogue progressives stealthily launched fake social media campaigns against Roy Moore, the GOP nominee for Senate in Alabama, during a 2017 special election. Their campaign aimed to confuse voters into thinking Moore supported banning alcohol and that Russian bots were working on his behalf.
  2019 November 19, Shashank Bengali, Evan Halper, “Troll armies, a growth industry in the Philippines, may soon be coming to an election near you”, in Los Angeles Times‎, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, archived from the original on 2023-05-09
  Social media accounts tied to a group of Russian trolls are amplifying claims of election fraud, according to researchers at the Election Integrity Partnership, a coalition of misinformation experts.
  2020 November 3, Sheera Frenkel, “Russian internet trolls are amplifying election fraud claims, researchers say.”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, archived from the original on 2023-05-27
  "The Dissident" saw as many as 500 low audience scores, out of just 2,400, flood the popular film-rating site Rotten Tomatoes on Jan. 12, filmmakers said, an act they believe came from trolls operating on behalf of the Saudi government to create a false sense of popular dissatisfaction.
  2021 January 21, Steven Zeitchik, “Saudi trolls appear to target The Dissident on Rotten Tomatoes”, in The Washington Post‎, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, archived from the original on 22 January 2021
  And, perhaps unsurprisingly, pro-war Chinese trolls denounced the authors – who are based in Nanjing, Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai – as "shameful" and "traitorous". "Why did you not say anything during the west's invasion in Iraq," one quipped sarcastically.
  2022 February 28, Vincent Ni, “’They were fooled by Putin’: Chinese historians speak out against Russian invasion”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, archived from the original on 2023-05-27

troll³

/tɹɒl/

verb
third-person singular simple present trolls, present participle trolling, simple past and past participle trolled
1. (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To move circularly; to roll; to turn.
  Quotations
  Of lustful appetence, to sing, to dance,To dress, and troule the Tongue, and roule the Eye.
  1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […]; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873,
2. (transitive, obsolete) To send about; to circulate, as a vessel in drinking.
  Quotations
  Then doth she troll to the bowl.
  c. 1553, author unknown, Gammer Gurton's Needle
  Troll the brown bowl.
  1820, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […]
3. (transitive, intransitive, archaic) To sing the parts of in succession, as of a round, a catch, and the like; also, to sing loudly, freely or in a carefree way.
  Quotations
  […] Will you troll the catch / You taught me but whilere?
  1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act III, scene ii]
  His sonnets charmed the attentive crowd, / By wide-mouthed mortal trolled aloud.
  1662, [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge: University Press, 1905
  Troul the ancient Christmas carol.
  1862, Thomas Oliphant, Nos Galan
  Next, he opened his stall and spread his meat upon the bench, then, taking his cleaver and steel and clattering them together, he trolled aloud in merry tones: […]
  1883, Howard Pyle, chapter V, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […]
noun
plural trolls
1. The act of moving round; routine; repetition.
  Quotations
  The troll of their categorical table might have informed them that there was something else in the intellectual world besides substance and quantity.
  1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […]
2. A song whose parts are sung in succession; a catch; a round.
  Quotations
  Thence the catch and troll, while "Laughter, holding both his sides," sheds tears to song and ballad pathetic on the woes of married life.
  1845, John Wilson, The genius and character of Burns
3. (obsolete) A trolley.

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