rotation

noun

ro·​ta·​tion rō-ˈtā-shən 

1

a(1)

: the action or process of rotating on or as if on an axis or center

(2)

: the act or an instance of rotating something

b

: one complete turn : the angular displacement required to return a rotating body or figure to its original orientation

2

a

: return or succession in a series

rotation of the seasons

b

: crop rotation

3

: the turning of a body part about its long axis as if on a pivot

4

: a game of pool in which all 15 object balls are shot in numerical order

5

: the series of pitchers on a baseball team who regularly start successive games in turn

rotational

rō-ˈtā-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

Synonyms of rotation

• spin
• curve
• roll
• wheel
• twirl
• revolution
• reel

Examples of rotation in a Sentence

the rotation of the Earth around its axis

the rotation of the Moon around the Earth

The Earth makes one rotation every day.

Alfalfa and corn are planted in rotation.

the rotation of the job of club president

The car needs a tire rotation.

Recent Examples on the Web

The true freshman had been primarily playing as part of Miami’s safety rotation before earning his first start last week at nickel corner in place of Scott. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 21 Nov. 2025

Simply put, the Blue Jays had better options for the postseason rotation. —Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025

No other regular in the rotation had more than 11. —Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 21 Nov. 2025

That solution held sway until Fox was pushed into the rotation in 2018; before long, nobody on the linear TV side had much use for the Thursday games, and the NFL sold the package to Amazon. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 21 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Phrases Containing rotation

• crop rotation
• optical rotation

Rhymes for rotation

• ablation
• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation
• collation

Kids Definition

rotation

noun

ro·​ta·​tion rō-ˈtā-shən 

1

a

: the act of rotating especially on an axis

b

: one complete turn

2

: crop rotation

rotational

-shnəl 

-shən-ᵊl

adjective

Medical Definition

rotation

noun

ro·​ta·​tion rō-ˈtā-shən 

: the action or process of rotating on or as if on an axis or center

specifically : the turning of a body part about its long axis as if on a pivot

rotation of the head to look over the shoulder

rotational

-shnəl, -shən-ᵊl 

adjective