rickroll
rick·roll/ˈɹɪkˌɹoʊl/verb, noun
rickroll is spelled R-I-C-K-R-O-L-L: 8 letters and 2 syllables (rick·roll). It appears about once in every 42 million words in written English, the 199,120th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, rickroll means “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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rickroll?
| Letters | 8: R-I-C-K-R-O-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: rick·roll |
| In writing | about once in every 42 million words; the 199,120th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is rickroll?
Rickroll appears about once in every 42 million words in written English, the 199,120th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rickroll?
- UK /ˈɹɪkɹəʊl/
- US /ˈɹɪkˌɹoʊl/
Rickroll has 2 syllables, split rick·roll in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-rickroll.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of rickroll
- rickrolls present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- rickrolling participle, present
- rickrolled participle, past
- rick-roll
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rickroll mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
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.
- 2
To surprise or trick (someone) into hearing this song.
The DJ rickrolled the whole audience by suddenly playing Rick Astley’s hit song.
- 3
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.
noun
- 1
An act of or attempt at rickrolling.
You have to check out this link. Not a rickroll.
verb
- 1
to rickroll (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")
- 2
to rickroll (to surprise or trick (someone) into hearing this song)
- 3
to rickroll (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)
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of rickroll, particularly
- 2
rickroll (an act of or attempt at rickrolling)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).