Library / English Dictionary

WHIRL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of rotating rapidly

Example:

it broke off after much twisting

Synonyms:

spin; twirl; twist; twisting; whirl

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("whirl" is a kind of...):

rotary motion; rotation (the act of rotating as if on an axis)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "whirl"):

pirouette ((ballet) a rapid spin of the body (especially on the toes as in ballet))

birling; logrolling (rotating a log rapidly in the water (as a competitive sport))

Derivation:

whirl (revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis)

whirl (cause to spin)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A usually brief attempt

Example:

I gave it a whirl

Synonyms:

crack; fling; go; offer; pass; whirl

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("whirl" is a kind of...):

attempt; effort; endeavor; endeavour; try (earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Confused movement

Example:

a commotion of people fought for the exits

Synonyms:

commotion; whirl

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("whirl" is a kind of...):

motion; movement (a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something)

Derivation:

whirl (flow in a circular current, of liquids)

whirl (fly around)

whirl (turn in a twisting or spinning motion)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The shape of something rotating rapidly

Synonyms:

convolution; swirl; vortex; whirl

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("whirl" is a kind of...):

round shape (a shape that is curved and without sharp angles)

Derivation:

whirl (revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis)

whirl (cause to spin)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis

Example:

The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy

Synonyms:

gyrate; reel; spin; spin around; whirl

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "whirl" is one way to...):

go around; revolve; rotate (turn on or around an axis or a center)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "whirl"):

whirligig (whirl or spin like a whirligig)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

whirler (a dervish whose actions include ecstatic dancing and whirling)

whirler (a revolving mechanism)

whirl (the shape of something rotating rapidly)

whirl (the act of rotating rapidly)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Flow in a circular current, of liquids

Synonyms:

eddy; purl; swirl; whirl; whirlpool

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "whirl" is one way to...):

course; feed; flow; run (move along, of liquids)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

whirl (confused movement)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Fly around

Example:

rising smoke whirled in the air

Synonyms:

tumble; whirl; whirl around

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "whirl" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

whirl (confused movement)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Cause to spin

Example:

spin a coin

Synonyms:

birl; spin; twirl; whirl

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "whirl" is one way to...):

circumvolve; rotate (cause to turn on an axis or center)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

The girls whirl the wooden sticks

Derivation:

whirl (the act of rotating rapidly)

whirl (the shape of something rotating rapidly)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Turn in a twisting or spinning motion

Example:

The leaves swirled in the autumn wind

Synonyms:

swirl; twiddle; twirl; whirl

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "whirl" is one way to...):

go around; revolve; rotate (turn on or around an axis or a center)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

The wooden sticks whirl

Derivation:

whirl (confused movement)

whirling (the act of rotating in a circle or spiral)

Credits

 Context examples: 

“My head whirls,” said he. “Your words have dazed me.”

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was scarce room for the whirl of his great arms as he talked.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

NGC 1055 appears to lack the whirling arms characteristic of a spiral, as it is seen edge-on.

(A Galaxy on the Edge, ESO)

He whirled over, fetching the ground on his back and side.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Hubble clocked material whirling around the black hole as moving at more than 10% of the speed of light.

(Hubble Uncovers Black Hole Disk that Shouldn't Exist, NASA)

The research revealed that blue sharks spent a good portion of their days using these whirling pockets of warm water to find prey.

(Blue sharks use ocean eddies as fast-tracks to food, National Science Foundation)

When Mr. St. John went, it was beginning to snow; the whirling storm continued all night.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

He didn't hear me call, nor see me flap my parasol in front, and there we were, quite helpless, rattling away, and whirling around corners at a breakneck pace.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Winter is taking a grip on Titan's southern hemisphere, and a strong, whirling atmospheric circulation pattern — a vortex — has developed in the upper atmosphere over the south pole.

(Cassini Sees Dramatic Seasonal Changes on Titan, NASA)

I attempted to accompany them and proceeded a short distance from the house, but my head whirled round, my steps were like those of a drunken man, I fell at last in a state of utter exhaustion; a film covered my eyes, and my skin was parched with the heat of fever.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)