swirled; swirling; swirls
1
a
: to move with an eddying or whirling motion
swirling water
b
: to pass in whirling confusion
2
: to have a twist or convolution
: to cause to swirl
swirled her drink
Examples of swirl in a Sentence
Verb
The water swirled around the drain.
kept swirling her lemonade until the ice had melted and it was completely watered down
Noun
A swirl of smoke rose from the chimney.
He painted swirls of color on the canvas.
ice cream with chocolate swirls
Recent Examples on the Web
Jason Parham, WIRED, 27 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, speculation continued to swirl whether the 49ers might trade Samuel, a more likely candidate than Aiyuk since the first-round collateral had been spent Thursday.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024
Orchestral grandeur and arena-rock posturing mixed with gritty metallic fuzz and sci-fi disco, swirling pieces of all three albums into a sum greater than its parts.
—Kat Bein, SPIN, 26 Apr. 2024
Still, there’s plenty of questionable advice and ideas swirling around.
—Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Apr. 2024
Since then, open source AI has exploded, even as debate has swirled about the security and safety of AI models that allow users open access to source code and model weights.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024
Rumors of layoffs began to swirl shortly after Bob Iger replaced Bob Chapek as Disney CEO last November.
—The Verge, 18 Apr. 2024
But off the ice, rumors are swirling about face offs of the political and economic kind over where, or if, the team will play next season.
—The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
As reports swirl about the sale and the move, the Coyotes play in Calgary on Sunday and return to Arizona State University's Mullett Arena in Tempe for a 7 p.m. Wednesday game against Edmonton.
—The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
Liv Dansky, Southern Living, 26 Apr. 2024
Towards the middle section of the image the landscape changes somewhat, with large roundish and oval swirls creating an effect reminiscent of marble.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 25 Apr. 2024
Now, a celestial image, an Impressionistic swirl of color in the center of the Milky Way, represents a first step toward understanding the role of those magnetic fields in the cycle of stellar death and rebirth.
—Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The Dulce de Leche pint features creamy caramel ice cream and swirl of Dulce de Leche-style caramel.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
The pop-country hybrid is catchy and polished, led by Adell’s airy, sparkling vocal, and a swirl of radio-ready production.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2024
The 28-year-old Whittier woman picked up the ball and her world became a swirl.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Coco Chanel lived here for 30 years; Ernest Hemingway famously equated it to heaven; and a swirl of luminary guests from the 20th century graced its gilded hallways.
—Amy Louise Bailey, Travel + Leisure, 22 Mar. 2024
The perpetual swirl of cultural particles mutes the resonance of any individual voice.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Verb
World Wide Whack is exactly that, a funhouse of fantasy and swirling originality.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 27 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, speculation continued to swirl whether the 49ers might trade Samuel, a more likely candidate than Aiyuk since the first-round collateral had been spent Thursday.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024
Orchestral grandeur and arena-rock posturing mixed with gritty metallic fuzz and sci-fi disco, swirling pieces of all three albums into a sum greater than its parts.
—Kat Bein, SPIN, 26 Apr. 2024
Still, there’s plenty of questionable advice and ideas swirling around.
—Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Apr. 2024
Since then, open source AI has exploded, even as debate has swirled about the security and safety of AI models that allow users open access to source code and model weights.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024
Rumors of layoffs began to swirl shortly after Bob Iger replaced Bob Chapek as Disney CEO last November.
—The Verge, 18 Apr. 2024
But off the ice, rumors are swirling about face offs of the political and economic kind over where, or if, the team will play next season.
—The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
As reports swirl about the sale and the move, the Coyotes play in Calgary on Sunday and return to Arizona State University's Mullett Arena in Tempe for a 7 p.m. Wednesday game against Edmonton.
—The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
Noun
Then, decorate with generous swoops and swirls of frosting.
—Liv Dansky, Southern Living, 26 Apr. 2024
Towards the middle section of the image the landscape changes somewhat, with large roundish and oval swirls creating an effect reminiscent of marble.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 25 Apr. 2024
Now, a celestial image, an Impressionistic swirl of color in the center of the Milky Way, represents a first step toward understanding the role of those magnetic fields in the cycle of stellar death and rebirth.
—Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The Dulce de Leche pint features creamy caramel ice cream and swirl of Dulce de Leche-style caramel.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
The pop-country hybrid is catchy and polished, led by Adell’s airy, sparkling vocal, and a swirl of radio-ready production.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2024
The 28-year-old Whittier woman picked up the ball and her world became a swirl.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Coco Chanel lived here for 30 years; Ernest Hemingway famously equated it to heaven; and a swirl of luminary guests from the 20th century graced its gilded hallways.
—Amy Louise Bailey, Travel + Leisure, 22 Mar. 2024
The perpetual swirl of cultural particles mutes the resonance of any individual voice.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'swirl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near swirl
Cite this Entry
“Swirl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swirl. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
swirl
1 of 2 noun1
: a whirling mass or motion : eddy
2
: whirling confusion
lost in the swirl of events
3
: a twisting shape, mark, or pattern
swirl
2 of 2 verb1
: to move with or pass in a swirl
2
: to be marked with or arranged in swirls
3
: to cause to swirl
swirlingly
adverb
ˈswər-liŋ-lē
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