barrel roll

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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Examples of barrel roll in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web 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 Delayed only briefly by that encounter, Harris quickly returns to speed as R.J. Roderick comes into frame to attempt some sort of barrel roll into Harris’ legs. — Nathan Baird, cleveland.com, "Is Ohio State football’s defense ready for Clemson and Alabama? Buckeye Rewatch," 16 Sep. 2019 Taking a little dip, passengers are almost immediately sent into a barrel roll at a precarious 197 feet in the air. — Arthur Levine, USA TODAY, "Barrel roll at 197 feet: New Steelers-themed coaster at Kennywood sets records, thrills riders," 12 Aug. 2019 The two-minute-long ride will feature a barrel roll and a sweeping Immelmann loop named after a German pilot who used the flying maneuver in World War I. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Coastal Commission says it’s a go for SeaWorld’s tallest roller coaster ever," 12 July 2019 Near the front door, there's an entire aisle of drones that can do barrel rolls over the shelving units. — Michael J. Mooney, Popular Mechanics, "Is RadioShack Back?," 1 Apr. 2016

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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Last Updated

13 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Barrel roll.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barrel%20roll. Accessed 18 January 2020.

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