Definitions for: Whirl


[n] the act of rotating rapidly; "he gave the crank a spin"; "it broke off after much twisting"
[n] a usually brief attempt; "he took a crack at it"; "I gave it a whirl"
[n] confused movement; "he was caught up in a whirl of work"; "a commotion of people fought for the exits"
[n] the shape of something rotating rapidly
[v] revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis; "The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy"
[v] flow in a circular current, of liquids
[v] fly around, as of paper on the sidewalk, or clothes in a dryer, or rising smoke in the wind
[v] cause to spin; "spin a coin"
[v] turn in a twisting or spinning motion; "The leaves swirled in the autumn wind"



Webster (1913) Definition: Whirl, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Whirled; p. pr. & vb. n.
Whirling.] [OE. whirlen, probably from the Scand.; cf.
Icel. & Sw. hvirfla, Dan. hvirvle; akin to D. wervelen, G.
wirbeln, freq. of the verb seen in Icel. hverfa to turn.
[root]16. See Wharf, and cf. Warble, Whorl.]
1. To turn round rapidly; to cause to rotate with velocity;
to make to revolve.

He whirls his sword around without delay. --Dryden.

2. To remove or carry quickly with, or as with, a revolving
motion; to snatch; to harry. --Chaucer.

See, see the chariot, and those rushing wheels, That
whirled the prophet up at Chebar flood. --Milton.

The passionate heart of the poet is whirl'd into
folly. --Tennyson.


Whirl, v. i.
1. To be turned round rapidly; to move round with velocity;
to revolve or rotate with great speed; to gyrate. ``The
whirling year vainly my dizzy eyes pursue.'' --J. H.
Newman.

The wooden engine flies and whirls about. --Dryden.

2. To move hastily or swiftly.

But whirled away to shun his hateful sight.
--Dryden.


Whirl, n. [Cf. Dan. hvirvel, Sw. hvirfvel, Icel.
hvirfill the crown of the head, G. wirbel whirl, crown of the
head, D. wervel. See Whirl, v. t.]
1. A turning with rapidity or velocity; rapid rotation or
circumvolution; quick gyration; rapid or confusing motion;
as, the whirl of a top; the whirl of a wheel. ``In no
breathless whirl.'' --J. H. Newman.

The rapid . . . whirl of things here below interrupt
not the inviolable rest and calmness of the noble
beings above. --South.

2. Anything that moves with a whirling motion.

He saw Falmouth under gray, iron skies, and whirls
of March dust. --Carlyle.

3. A revolving hook used in twisting, as the hooked spindle
of a rope machine, to which the threads to be twisted are
attached.

4. (Bot. & Zo["o]l.) A whorl. See Whorl.

Synonyms: birl, commotion, convolution, crack, eddy, fling, go, gyrate, offer, pass, purl, reel, skirl, spin, spin, spin around, swirl, swirl, tumble, twiddle, twirl, twirl, twist, twisting, vortex, whirl around, whirlpool

See Also: attempt, birling, circumvolve, course, effort, endeavor, endeavour, flow, go around, logrolling, motion, move, movement, pirouette, revolve, rotate, rotation, round shape, run, try, whirligig

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