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

The fintech roller coaster—after a few years of barrel rolls and corkscrews—is on a solid upward swing, says Immad Akhund, fintech Mercury’s cofounder and CEO. —Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2025

In addition to tilt and pressure sensitivity, the Apple Pencil Pro adds squeeze and delete functions to the palette, along with a new barrel roll gesture and haptic vibrational feedback. —PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2025

Wide barrel rolls gave her hair shape and dimension. —Essence, 14 July 2025

The Ice Winder Roll will add a twist to the classic double barrel roll with a banking 45-degree turn and downdrop finish. —Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 10 July 2025

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