rolodex means A type of rotating file index used for storing addresses, especially in a work context. It carries an Arena rating of 1389, earned across 17 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, rolodex ranks #609 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #1,086 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,142 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #2,081 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
Why “rolodex” is a great word
A rotating desktop file device for storing contact information, or by extension, one's personal or professional network. A genericized trademark, from 'rolling' + the connective '-o-' + 'index', coined in 1958 by the Rolodex Corporation. Unlike an address book—a simple, often static ledger—or a directory, an impersonal and exhaustive list, a Rolodex was a curated, tangible wheel of fortune. It was the satisfying, heavy *thwip-thwip-thwip* of spinning cards past the A‑spring, the tactile flick to find a number written in fading pen, and the physical heft of a career's accrued influence sitting on a polished desk—a monument to connection in an age before it became weightless and infinite.
Etymology
Genericized trademark, from rol(ling) + -o- + (in)dex. The brand name was originally part of a range including other items such as the Autodex and Clipodex.
noun
- A type of rotating file index used for storing addresses, especially in a work context.
- One's contact list.
- A large list or category (of something specified).
verb
- To index, or scan through, in the manner of a rotating file index.e.g.“I was already mentally Rolodexing through viable excuses.” — 2017, Jaime Primak Sullivan, The Southern Education of a Jersey Girl, page 50:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- filofax 57% match — A personal organizer comprising a calendar, address book, etc. in a compact wallet. vs rolodex →
- rotograph 51% match — A photograph printed by a process in which a strip or roll of sensitized paper is automatically fed over the negative so that a series of prints are made, and are then rapidly developed, fixed, cut apart, and washed. vs rolodex →
- bookroll 51% match — A continuous scroll bearing the text of a book and able to be rolled up into a cylinder. vs rolodex →
- addressograph 51% match — A device for making mailing labels, used for much of the 20th century. vs rolodex →
- rotulus 49% match — A roll of parchment or papyrus that was written on to make a permanent record. vs rolodex →
- bookwheel 49% match — A millwheel-shaped contraption allowing a reader to toggle between different books, all kept upright on separate shelves as the wheel turns. vs rolodex →
- rotulet 49% match — A document in the form of a small roll, especially one that forms part of a larger roll. vs rolodex →
- flipboard 47% match — A set of cards hinged together on an easel, used in making presentations. vs rolodex →