barrel roll

noun

1

: an airplane maneuver in which a complete revolution about the longitudinal axis is made

2

: a usually accidental occurrence in which a vehicle rolls completely over along its longitudinal axis

If the accident is violent enough to cause a couple of barrel rolls, the car will do so, despite the flaps.

—Connie Steele

barrel-roll verb, transitive + intransitive

He once flipped a car at 225 miles per hour and barrel-rolled another at 307 mph.

—Preston Lerner

Examples of barrel roll in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By default, your ship can boost, perform a barrel roll, shoot a primary gun, and fire secondary missiles. —PCMAG, 16 Mar. 2025

Rousing wheelhouse kicks and exiting barrel rolls make this no-frills action flick a distinct take on the genre. —Robert Daniels, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024

Pilots will be so excited to perform awesome stunts with a simple tap, fly barrel rolls, and do flips from a stationary hover. —Toby Rose, Parents, 24 Oct. 2024

Here’s to another year of being thrown upside down into a barrel roll at nauseating speeds over and over with you!! —Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 13 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for barrel roll

• amphibole
• asystole
• buttonhole
• casserole
• centriole
• decontrol
• glycerol
• metropole
• monopole
• multipole
• omeprazole
• oriole