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

There are no surprises, whether doing a barrel roll to deflect lasers or flying under arches and through a waterfall to find an alternate path. —Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 2 June 2026

Pilots arrive at a competition after having polished sequences of loops, stall turns, and barrel rolls. —Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 25 May 2026

After flying for over an hour around the Puget Sound, Russell completed a successful barrel roll before crashing the plane into Ketron Island. —Forbestv, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2026

David went on to compete as an aerobatic pilot — whipping barrel rolls, flying at 300 mph just 15 feet above the ground, and pulling off his signature move: the Dave-o-lator. —Reeves Wiedeman, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026

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