rappel
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
verb
noun
-
another word (esp US) for abseil
-
(formerly) a drumbeat to call soldiers to arms
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rappel
1930–35; < French: mountaineering term, literally, a recall. See repeal
Compare meaning
How does rappel compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When rock climbers rappel, they lower themselves down the side of a wall or mountain. To rappel safely, a climber uses special anchors and climbing ropes, as well as the help of another person. Descending is the riskiest part of mountaineering, so many climbers rappel instead of simply climbing down using hand- and footholds. Various tools and equipment can help a climber rappel even more safely, but the most important one is a good rope that's securely anchored. The French rappel literally means "recall." Some English speakers use the term abseil instead.
Vocabulary lists containing rappel
Into Thin Air
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The Canyon's Edge
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Wild Wings
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"The initial descent into the cave isn't too deep -- we would tie a rope to the side and then rappel down," says Viñola López.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Special Forces to rappel down from helicopters onto the decks of two shadow tankers in the Indian Ocean.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
You can watch our soldiers rappel out of one of the Seahawks just like Santa’s elves.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
Earlier, rescuers had constructed a temporary pedestrian bridge and used ropes to rappel across the river to reach stranded people there and move the injured to hospitals.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2024
“If he’d tried to rappel down the ropes like that,” says Beidleman, “he would have immediately popped out of his harness and fallen to the bottom of the Lhotse Face.”
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Featuring five zip lines, two aerial bridges and two rappels, this zip-line tour goes from the top of the Village Express Chairlift and descends to the ski resort base.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 2, 2022
The descent is virtually no-fall terrain involving four 60-meter rappels over the ice pitches and a traverse of a short-hanging snowfield.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2021
As Becks pilots their spaceship, Rani rappels down a rope and sets out to get the lay of the land.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 17, 2021
The Girl on the Balcony is most startling when Hussey rappels off Shakespeare’s ledge to scamper around Hollywood.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 1, 2018
Upon reaching the top of the rock steps at 28,400 feet, he was confronted with a series of short but troublesome rappels that angled along the ridge.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
“They literally rappelled down and did tagging on their way down, taking huge risks,” Petty said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Once inside, they climbed, rappelled, crawled, and even floated through flooded sections while recording the caves' shapes and fracture patterns.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 2, 2026
Border Patrol agents from an elite unit rappelled from a hovering Black Hawk helicopter onto the roof of a 130-unit apartment complex.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2026
He had finished the climb and was hauling up equipment when he likely rappelled off the end of his rope, Dylan said.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
We went horseback riding in the morning, and in the afternoon we rappelled up some ginormous trees with the help of the nature guides.
From "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio
Footage published by Centcom shows US marines rappelling from a helicopter on to the deck of a ship, said to be the oil tanker Celestial Sea, in the Gulf of Oman.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
Footage of the operation posted online by Macron showed Belgian forces rappelling down from the aircraft to board the ship.
From Barron's ● Mar. 1, 2026
Elsewhere around the country, a raid on a Chicago apartment building in the middle of the night—featuring agents rappelling down the building from a Black Hawk helicopter—earned the administration plenty of controversy, but no apologies.
From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2026
Marines rappelling from helicopters onto a civilian oil tanker.
From Salon ● Dec. 28, 2025
They yank up the other harnesses along the cliff, strap themselves in, and begin rappelling down.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
