How to pronounce rickroll
Say it like RIK-rohl. Rickroll has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (RIK).
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce rickroll. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- RIK
- rohl
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Rickroll pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- RIKSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "i" in sit.
- rohlGive this part a little weight. The vowel is the "o" in go.
American vs British pronunciation of rickroll
- The long o starts further forward in British English, closer to "uh-oo" than the American "oh".
British respelling: RIK-rohl.
What does rickroll mean?
- To mislead (someone) into following a seemingly innocuous hyperlink, or sometimes a QR code, that leads to a YouTube video of Rick Astley's song "Never Gonna Give You Up".“I try not to get rickrolled by sketchy YouTube links, but sometimes you let your guard down.”
- To surprise or trick (someone) into hearing this song.“The DJ rickrolled the whole audience by suddenly playing Rick Astley’s hit song.”
- To cause (someone) to unexpectedly engage with this song through an indirect method, such as through steganography, sheet music, or by inserting the lyrics into an unrelated context.“She inserted the lyrics of “Never Gonna Give You Up” into her speech so casually that most listeners didn’t even realize they’d been rickrolled.”
Where does rickroll come from?
The verb is a blend of Rick + duckroll, combining the name of the British pop singer and songwriter Rick Astley (born 1966) with a reference to the duckroll prank on the website 4chan, in which users tricked into clicking on a hyperlink we
Questions about saying rickroll
How do you pronounce rickroll?
Say RIK-rohl. The American pronunciation is /ˈrɪˌkroʊl/. In British English it is /ˈrɪkrəʊl/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in rickroll?
Rickroll has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (RIK). Broken into parts: RIK · rohl.
Is rickroll pronounced differently in British English?
Yes. The long o starts further forward in British English, closer to "uh-oo" than the American "oh". The British form is /ˈrɪkrəʊl/ (RIK-rohl).