rotary

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adjective

ro·ta·ry ˈrō-tə-rē

Synonyms of rotary next

: turning on an axis like a wheel

: taking place about an axis

rotary motion

: having an important part that turns on an axis

rotary cutter

: characterized by rotation

: of, relating to, or being a press in which paper is printed by rotation in contact with a curved printing surface attached to a cylinder

rotary

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noun

plural rotaries

: a rotary machine

: a road junction formed around a central circle about which traffic moves in one direction only

called also circle, traffic circle

Example Sentences

Adjective the rotary action of the wheel

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Related Story How Russia Beat America to the Hypersonic Missile The twin-engine Su-24 could carry nearly nine tons of bombs, rockets, or missiles on nine hardpoints (including tactical nukes) supplemented by a 23-millimeter rotary cannon. —

Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 11 May 2023 There was a time at the height of his popularity in the 80s when Crum was asked to speak in Central City, essentially in the heart of UK country, to a rotary club to raise money for scholarships. —

C.l. Brown, The Courier-Journal, 9 May 2023 The rifle runs on Browning’s smooth three-lug action and is fed by its rotary magazine, which is easy to load and utterly reliable. —

John B. Snow, Field & Stream, 4 May 2023 On the other hand, rotary polishing wheels are a professional tool and come with a huge learning curve. —

Katherine Keeler, Car and Driver, 18 Apr. 2023 The obvious difference is the absence of a gear lever: replaced by a rotary switch to select neutral, drive, or reverse. —

Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2023 Beneath the Mute button, there’s a rotary knob that can be used to adjust the amount of gain. —

Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023 Fifty years before the arrival of smart-home devices, Midgley wired up the rotary telephone in his bedroom so that a few spins of the dial would operate the sprinklers. —

Steven Johnson, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2023 This razor features three rotary blades that can bend and flex independently over the contours of your face. —

Steven Rowe, Verywell Health, 23 Feb. 2023

Noun

The location on Route 1 in Lynnfield, next to what was once The Ship restaurant, has a lighthouse, despite being 10 miles from the ocean; another at the Sagamore Bridge rotary in Cape Cod features an enormous windmill. —

Diti Kohli, BostonGlobe.com, 5 May 2023 Along with adding a few ponies to the spunky rotary, these extras likely brought some higher decibels to the engine's howl. —

Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 26 Apr. 2023 Set its rotary-dial choke and pull the recoil start. —

Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 20 Mar. 2023 Two main classes [of actuators]: rotary and linear. —

Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 4 Oct. 2022 Better breathing accounts for the additional difference; a rotary's output, like a piston engine's, is limited by its airflow. —

Csaba Csere, Car and Driver, 1 Feb. 2023 The caller told police the Toyota was heading toward the Route 3A rotary. —

Emily Sweeney, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Jan. 2023 That’s why a manual can opener with a safety rotary like this pick from Kuhn Rikon is a great option. —

Adria Greenhauff, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Jan. 2023 Bertrand Gachot of Belgium, Johnny Herbert of Britain and Volker Weidler of Germany are the winning drivers of the rotary-powered Mazda. —

Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rotary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.