rappel

verb

rap·pel | \ rə-ˈpel,

ra-\

rappelled also rappeled; rappelling also rappeling

Definition of rappel

: to descend (as from a cliff) by sliding down a rope passed under one thigh, across the body, and over the opposite shoulder or through a special friction device

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Examples of rappel in a Sentence

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By morning rush hour, seven had rappelled down far enough to form an aerial blockade, successfully disrupting tanker transport of tar sands oil from the Burrard Inlet likely headed to Asian markets. — Maia Wikler, Teen Vogue, "12 Activists Blocked an Oil Tanker Transporting From the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline in Canada," 6 Sep. 2018 Because of the darkness and other adverse conditions, the firefighters couldn't rappel down the cliff to rescue the hikers, who weren't hurt, just trapped, fire officials said. — CBS News, "3 hikers stranded overnight are rescued by helicopter from California beach cliff," 16 June 2018 Marc sometimes rappels down to provide supplemental lighting if the couple is backlit by the rising sun. — Janine Puhak, Fox News, "New Hampshire wedding photographers capture couples at stunning heights," 18 Aug. 2018 Pura Vida Adventures offers canyoneering trips that include rappelling down waterfalls, some as high as 75 feet (23 meters). — Hillary Speed, chicagotribune.com, "In Western North Carolina: Do go chasing waterfalls," 26 June 2018 The crowd below cheered as Banks reached the top, let go, and gracefully rappelled down. — Pat Nabong, Chicago Reader, "LGBTQ+ / Photography / Sports Drag queens find unlikely spot to perform—on a 50-foot climbing wall," 11 June 2018 That factors into her desire to rappel for the Kidney Foundation. — David Anderson, The Aegis, "'Electrifying!' Joppa woman rappels down tall building to raise money for Kidney Foundation," 8 June 2018 The bodies were eventually found and recovered by Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who rappelled into the base of the falls from a helicopter, then used an underwater camera to find the bodies. — Wes Siler, Outside Online, "Doing It for the ‘Gram Turns Deadly," 9 July 2018 From a hovering helicopter, a sniper takes out an enemy combatant, and an elite U.S. Coast Guard counter terrorism team swings into action, rappelling to the deck and taking command of the ship. — Carter Evans, CBS News, "Elite Coast Guard team training for potential chemical weapons attacks," 14 June 2018

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