whirl

whirl  (hwûrl, wûrl)

v. whirled, whirl·ing, whirls

v.intr.

1. To revolve rapidly about a center or an axis. See Synonyms at turn.

2. To rotate or spin rapidly: The dancer whirled across the stage.

3. To turn rapidly, changing direction; wheel: She whirled around to face him.

4. To have the sensation of spinning; reel: My head is whirling with data.

5. To move circularly and rapidly in varied, random directions: The wind whirled across the steppes.

v.tr.

1. To cause to rotate or turn rapidly: whirl a baton.

2. To move or drive in a circular or curving course.

3. To drive at high speed: whirled the motorcycle around the corner.

4. Obsolete To hurl.

n.

1. The act of rotating or revolving rapidly.

2. Something, such as a cloud of dust, that whirls or is whirled.

3. A state of confusion; tumult.

4. A swift succession or round of events: the social whirl.

5. A state of mental confusion or giddiness; dizziness: My head is in a whirl.

6. Informal A short trip or ride.

7. Informal A brief or experimental try: Let's give the plan a whirl.

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[Middle English whirlen, probably from Old Norse hvirfla.]

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whirler n.

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whirl [wɜːl]

vb

1. to spin, turn, or revolve or cause to spin, turn, or revolve

2. (intr) to turn around or away rapidly

3. (intr) to have a spinning sensation, as from dizziness, etc.

4. to move or drive or be moved or driven at high speed

n

1. the act or an instance of whirling; swift rotation or a rapid whirling movement

2. a condition of confusion or giddiness her accident left me in a whirl

3. a swift round, as of events, meetings, etc.

4. a tumult; stir

5. Informal a brief trip, dance, etc.

give (something) a whirl Informal to attempt or give a trial to (something)

[from Old Norse hvirfla to turn about; related to Old High German wirbil whirlwind]

whirler  n

whirling  adj

whirlingly  adv

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whirl

• turbine - Came from Latin turbo, "whirl, whirling thing."
• twirl - May be a blend of twist and whirl.
• warble - Has the underlying notion of "whirling around"; for sounds, it took on the meaning "whirl of notes; trill."
• whorl - A variant of whirl, it first meant "small flywheel."

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	whirl - confused movement; "he was caught up in a whirl of work"; "a commotion of people fought for the exits" commotion motion, movement - a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something
	2.	whirl - the shape of something rotating rapidly convolution, swirl, vortex round shape - a shape that is curved and without sharp angles
	3.	whirl - a usually brief attempt; "he took a crack at it"; "I gave it a whirl" fling, go, offer, crack, pass attempt, effort, try, endeavor, endeavour - earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try"
	4.	whirl - the act of rotating rapidly; "he gave the crank a spin"; "it broke off after much twisting" spin, twirl, twisting, twist rotary motion, rotation - the act of rotating as if on an axis; "the rotation of the dancer kept time with the music" 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)
Verb	1.	whirl - turn in a twisting or spinning motion; "The leaves swirled in the autumn wind" swirl, twiddle, twirl revolve, rotate, go around - turn on or around an axis or a center; "The Earth revolves around the Sun"; "The lamb roast rotates on a spit over the fire"
	2.	whirl - cause to spin; "spin a coin"         birl, twirl, spin circumvolve, rotate - cause to turn on an axis or center; "Rotate the handle"
	3.	whirl - flow in a circular current, of liquids eddy, purl, whirlpool, swirl course, flow, run, feed - move along, of liquids; "Water flowed into the cave"; "the Missouri feeds into the Mississippi"
	4.	whirl - revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis; "The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy" spin, spin around, gyrate, reel revolve, rotate, go around - turn on or around an axis or a center; "The Earth revolves around the Sun"; "The lamb roast rotates on a spit over the fire" whirligig - whirl or spin like a whirligig
	5.	whirl - fly around; "The clothes tumbled in the dryer"; "rising smoke whirled in the air" whirl around, tumble move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right"

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whirl

verb

1. spin, turn, circle, wheel, twist, reel, rotate, pivot, twirl Hearing a sound behind her, she whirled round.

2. rotate, roll, twist, revolve, swirl, twirl, gyrate, pirouette The smoke whirled and grew into a monstrous column.

3. feel dizzy, swim, spin, reel, go round My head whirled in a giddiness like that of intoxication.

noun

1. revolution, turn, roll, circle, wheel, spin, twist, reel, swirl, rotation, twirl, pirouette, gyration, birl (Scot.) the whirl of snowflakes in the wind

2. bustle, round, series, succession, flurry, merry-go-round Her life is one long whirl of parties.

3. confusion, daze, dither (chiefly Brit.), giddiness My thoughts are in a complete whirl.

4. tumult, spin, stir, agitation, commotion, hurly-burly I was caught up in a terrible whirl of emotion.

give something a whirl (Informal) attempt, try, have a go at (informal), have a crack at (informal), have a shot at (informal), have a stab at (informal), have a bash at, have a whack at (informal) Why not give acupuncture a whirl?

Translations

whirl [wɜːl]

A. N (= spin) → giro m, vuelta f; [of dust, water etc] → remolino m; [of cream] → rizo m
my head is in a whirl → la cabeza me está dando vueltas
the social whirl → la actividad social
a whirl of pleasures → un torbellino de placeres
let's give it a whirl → ¡nada se pierde con intentar!

B. VT

1. (= spin) → hacer girar
he whirled Anne round the dance floor → hizo girar a Anne por la pista
as the wind whirled leaves into the air → mientras el aire hacia revolotear or girar las hojas en el aire
he whirled his sword round his head → esgrimió su espada haciéndola girar sobre su cabeza

2. (fig) (= transport) → llevar rápidamente
the train whirled us off to Paris → el tren nos llevó rápidamente a París
he whirled us off to the theatre → nos llevó volando al teatro

C. VI [wheel, merry-go-round] → girar; [leaves, dust, water] → arremolinarse (fig) (= move quickly) the dancers whirled past → los bailarines pasaron girando vertiginosamente
my head was whirling → me daba vueltas la cabeza

whirl round

A. VI + ADV [wheel, merry-go-round] → girar, dar vueltas; [dust, water] → arremolinarse
she whirled round to face me → se volvió rápidamente para mirarme

B. VT + ADV → hacer girar
he was whirling something round on the end of a string → hacía girar algo al extremo de un hilo

C. VT + PREP
see whirl B1

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whirl [ˈ^hwɜː^rl]

n → tourbillon m

(= exciting, active time) a whirl of activity → une débauche d'activité
a social whirl → un tourbillon de mondanités

my mind is in a whirl → la tête me tourne

to give sth a whirl (= try) → essayer qch

vt [+ person] → faire tournoyer; [+ snow, dust] → faire tourbillonner

vi

(= swirl) [snow, dust] → tourbillonner
whirling snow → de la neige tourbillonnante

(= rotate quickly) [blades, arms] → tournoyer

whirl around

vi [person] → faire volte-face; [dancer] → tournoyer
He whirled around and ran back down the street → Il fit volte-face et redescendit la rue au pas de course.

vt sep [+ person] → faire tourner

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whirl

n (= spin) → Wirbeln nt no pl; (of dust, water etc, also fig) → Wirbel m; (of cream etc) → Tupfer m; to give something a whirl (lit) → etw herumwirbeln; (fig inf: = try out) → etw ausprobieren; the social whirl → der Trubel des gesellschaftlichen Lebens; my head is in a whirl → mir schwirrt der Kopf

vt

(= make turn) → wirbeln; to whirl somebody/something round → jdn/etw herumwirbeln; he whirled his hat round his head → er schwenkte seinen Hut; he whirled the water around with his stick → er rührte mit seinem Stock im Wasser herum

(transport) → eilends wegbringen; (person) → mit sich nehmen, entführen (inf)

vi (= spin) → wirbeln; (water) → strudeln; to whirl (a)round → herumwirbeln; (water) → strudeln; (person: = turn round quickly) → herumfahren; my head is whirling → mir schwirrt der Kopf; after a few drinks the room started whirling → nach ein paar Gläsern fing der Raum an, sich zu drehen; they/the countryside whirled past us → sie wirbelten/die Landschaft flog an uns vorbei

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whirl [wɜːl]

1. n (spin) → vortice m, turbinio; (of dust, water) → turbine m; (of cream) → ricciolo
my head is in a whirl → mi gira la testa
the social whirl → il vortice della vita mondana
let's give it a whirl (fam) → facciamo un tentativo

2. vt (also whirl round) (dance partner) → far roteare, far volteggiare
the wind whirled the leaves → il vento ha sollevato le foglie in un vortice
he whirled us round the town → ci ha fatto visitare la città a tutta velocità or in un baleno
he whirled us off to the theatre → ci trascinò con sé al teatro

3. vi (also whirl round) (wheel, merry-go-round) → girare; (dancers) → volteggiare; (leaves, dust) → sollevarsi in un vortice
the countryside whirled past us → la campagna sfrecciava accanto a noi
the dancers whirled past us → i danzatori passarono accanto a noi volteggiando
my head was whirling → mi girava la testa

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whirl

v whirl [wəːl]

to move rapidly (round, away etc) She whirled round when I called her name; The wind whirled my hat away before I could grab it. wegwaai يُدَوِّم، يَلُف، يَدور كالدَّوّامَه въртя се силно prudce se otočit; odnést snurre; hvirvle wirbeln στροβιλίζω, στροβιλίζομαι, (στριφο)γυρίζω ir como un relámpago, girar, dar vueltas pöörama, keerutama چرخانيدن pyörähtää se retourner brusquement; tourbillonner לְסוֹבֵב בִּמהִירוּת तेजी से घूमना brzo se kretati forog berputar snarsnúa(st); þyrla(st); þeyta girarsi; (far turbinare/volteggiare) さっと動く 급히 움직이다 ap(si)sukti []griezt; []vērpt; griezties; virpuļot memusing-musingkan wervelen snurre; bråsnu, virvle, suse av gårde (za)wirować, okręcić się, porwać w wir rodopiar a se întoarce brusc; a învârti кружить(ся) prudko sa otočiť; odniesť hitro se obrniti; zavrteti se vrteti virvla, slunga, slänga หมุนเวียนรอบอย่างรวดเร็ว fırıl fırıl dön(dür)mek 飛快旋轉，風吹飄走 крутити(ся); кружляти تیزی سے گھومنا xoáy tít; quay cuồng 急得（或火得）打转，（风）卷去

n

1 an excited confusion a whirl of activity; My head's in a whirl – I can't believe it's all happening! ronddraai دَوَران، في دَوّامَه хаос zmatek, shon snurren der Wirbel δίνη, παραζάλη torbellino, bullicio, ajetreo tuhin, -pööritus چرخيدن hyörinä tourbillon בִּלבּוּל घूर्णन komešanje pörgés kebingungan (hring)iða; svimi turbinio 混乱 소동 sukimasis, sūkurys, sąmyšis virpulis; jūklis berpusing-pusing roes virvel, tummel wir rodopio vârtej суматоха; (голово)кружение zhon, zmätok vrtinec kovitlac virvel, virvlande การหมุนรอบ telâş, hay huy, koşuşma 一陣混亂 метушня; сум'яття سر گردانی sự quay cuồng; gió lốc 眩晕

2 a rapid turn. skielike draai دَوَران سَريع въртене víření snurren rundt das Herumwirbeln στροβίλισμα giro, vuelta pööre گردش سريع pyörähdys tourbillon; tournoiement סִיבוּב מָהִיר घूर्णन brz okret forgás putaran cepat snarsnúningur rotazione 急回転 급선회 staigus ap(si)sukimas spējš pagrieziens pusaran; putaran werveling brå sving nagły obrót rodopio întoarcere bruscă (быстрый) оборот vírenie, kúdol hiter obrat brz okret rotation, sväng, virvlande การหมุนกลับอย่างรวดเร็ว fırıl fırıl dön(dür)me; baş dönmesi 急轉 вихор, завихрення تیز چکر sự xoay tít 急转

n whirlpool

a circular current in a river or sea, caused by opposing tides, winds or currents. kolk دُوّامَه، دُرْدور مائي водовъртеж vír strømhvirvel der Strudel δίνη, ρουφήχτρα remolino veekeeris گرداب pyörre tourbillon מְעַרבּוֹלֶת भंवर vir, vrtlog örvény pusaran hringiða, svelgur vortice, mulinello 渦巻き 소용돌이 sūkurys virpulis; atvars lubuk pusar draaikolk virvelstrøm, malstrøm wir remoinho vârtej (de apă) водоворот vír, krútňava vrtinec vir strömvirvel, malström น้ำวน girdap, anafor 漩渦 вир بھنور xoáy nước 旋涡

n whirlwind

a violent circular current of wind with a whirling motion. warrelwind زَوْبَعَه، دَوّامَه هَوائِيَّه، إعْصار вихрушка tornádo hvirvelvind der Wirbelwind ανεμοστρόβιλος torbellino tuulispask گردباد pyörretuuli tornade מְעַרבּוֹלתֶ אֲוִיר बवण्डर vihor, zračni vrtlog forgószél angin puyuh hvirfilvindur turbine, (tromba d'aria) つむじ風 회오리바람 viesulas, uraganas virpulis; viesulis putting-beliung wervelwind virvelvind trąba powietrzna furacão vijelie; tornadă вихрь vzdušný vír, víchrica, smršť zračni vrtinec kovitlac virvelvind ลมหมุน hortum 旋風 вихор; смерч بگولا cơn gió lốc 旋风