barrel roll

noun

Definition of barrel roll

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

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Other Words from barrel roll

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 One will feature a 360-degree barrel roll above the park’s lagoon. — Arthur Levine, USA TODAY, "Universal Orlando announces new rapturous Jurassic World roller coaster," 29 Sep. 2020 The ride will feature two launches — the fastest will take guests to 70 miles per hour in just 2.4 seconds — and a 360-degree barrel roll above the Islands of Adventure lagoon. — Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, "Universal Orlando's Newest Roller Coaster Will Have Its Steepest Drop Yet," 28 Sep. 2020 Every ramp was slanted, some sloping down to the right, others drooping to the left so that barrels rolled down them like marbles rolling through chutes in a Rube Goldberg-like device. — David L. Craddock, Ars Technica, "How a basement hacker transformed Donkey Kong for the Atari 2600," 14 Sep. 2019 Hoot Brown Intermediate Terrain Park is ever-evolving and includes obstacles like wall rides, big jumps, barrel rolls and more. — Nicole Cormier, Dallas News, "A guide to Telluride’s slopes," 12 Feb. 2020 All those cop cars piling up in The Blues Brothers, the bank heist using Chargers in Fast Five, and James Bond's Aston Martin DBS barrel rolling in Casino Royale are pretty cool, too. — John Pearley Huffman, Car and Driver, "Cars and Movies Go Together," 6 Jan. 2020 Goodwill games include beer stein racing and beer barrel rolling. — Luann Gibbs, Cincinnati.com, "Things to do this week in Cincinnati: Sept. 16-22," 16 Sep. 2019 But your next best bet is landing with a barrel roll. — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, "How to Jump from a Moving Train Using Science," 15 Sep. 2019 As Larson spun, his back wheels lifted off the ground, the car’s nose crashed against the interior wall and started about a half-dozen barrel rolls before coming to a stop. — Pete Iacobelli, The Seattle Times, "NASCAR won’t recommend changes after Talladega crash," 18 May 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'barrel roll.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Barrel roll.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barrel%20roll. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.

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