eddy

noun

ed·dy | \ ˈe-dē

plural eddies

Definition of eddy

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : a current of water or air running contrary to the main current especially : a circular current : whirlpool

b : something moving similarly

2 : a contrary or circular current (as of thought or policy)

eddy

verb

eddied; eddying

Definition of eddy (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

: to cause to move in an eddy

intransitive verb

: to move in an eddy or in the manner of an eddy

Eddy

biographical name

Ed·dy | \ ˈe-dē

Definition of Eddy (Entry 3 of 3)

Mary (Morse) 1821–1910 née Baker American founder of the Christian Science Church

Examples of eddy in a Sentence

Noun

The boat was caught in a powerful eddy.

Verb

The wind gusted and eddied around us. The waves swirled and eddied against the pier.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Larger logs control the very shape and flow of streams, creating pools and back eddies where returning salmon rest and spawn. — Brian Payton, Smithsonian, "How Driftwood Reshapes Ecosystems," 9 Feb. 2018 Turbulence almost always steals energy from larger flows and channels it into smaller eddies. — Joshua Sokol, WIRED, "Flattened Fluids Help Scientists Understand Oceans and Atmospheres," 7 July 2018 Redbreasts haunt Central Texas rivers, concentrating in the eddies and channels and deep pools where current is light or absent. — Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "June spawn signals peak in Texas sunfish action," 3 June 2018 Our leading hypothesis is these warm eddies are a refuge for them. — Martin Finucane, BostonGlobe.com, "Great white sharks like to hang out in ocean eddies, new study says," 22 June 2018 Another study, which estimated biomass at various points in the Atlantic, found the highest levels in these warm-water eddies. — Brian J. Skerry, National Geographic, "Why Great White Sharks Hang Out in Warm Whirlpools," 19 June 2018 Redbreasts haunt Central Texas rivers, concentrating in the eddies and channels and deep pools where current is light or absent. — Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "June spawn signals peak in Texas sunfish action," 3 June 2018 At some point, the roar of the river died down and the canoe slid into a wide eddy. — Porter Fox, New York Times, "On a Canoe Trip Along the U.S.-Canada Border, Solitude and Shooting Stars," 20 June 2018 The National Science Foundation project seeks to understand the movement of plankton and fish as a result of currents and eddies. — Jennifer Van Grove, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Coast Guard icebreaker stops in San Diego before Arctic mission," 24 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The generous space between them is insurance that a fire in one is less likely to spread to another, and the arrangement ensures there won’t be a constricted area where the wind might eddy in a blizzard and pile snow against a tent entrance. — Barry Lopez, Harper's magazine, "Polar Light," 10 Jan. 2019 This is all great, but no one has ever measured the way that eddies flux heat or CO2. — Quanta Magazine, "Scientists Parse Ocean’s Dynamic Role in Climate Change," 11 Apr. 2013 Below, a meadow of soft gold wild grass sways in the wind like the bay’s eddying waters. — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, "Inside Tory Burch’s Lovingly Restored Antigua Getaway," 15 Aug. 2018 Around the ceiling light, a swarm of flies eddied, droning monotonously. — Ben Taub, The New Yorker, "The Boarder," 30 Apr. 2018 For sixteen months, the Boeing 777 wing flap sailed the Indian Ocean Gyre, meandering and eddying, speeding up and slowing unpredictably, before making landfall on Réunion Island off the east coast of Africa in July. — Bucky Mcmahon, Esquire, "If Anyone Finds MH370, It Will Be the Men on This Ship," 14 Sep. 2015

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'eddy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.