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“To rollback” or “to roll back”: which is correct?

The short answer

Roll back should be used as a verb phrase. Rollback is a noun referring to the act or process of reversing a change.

Usage error

Why people get it wrong

Rollback is common as a noun in software (a rollback of the update), so people use the same one-word spelling for the verb. As a verb, it’s two words: roll back.

Examples with to roll back

  • We need to roll back the software update due to a bug.
  • The team decided to roll back the changes after encountering issues.
  • An option is available to roll back to the previous version of the system.

Quick check

We need   the software update due to a bug.

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