rotate

adjective

ro·tate | \ˈrō-ˌtāt

Definition of rotate

(Entry 1 of 2)

: having the parts flat and spreading or radiating like the spokes of a wheel rotate blue flowers

rotate

verb

ro·tate | \ˈrō-ˌtāt,

especially British rō-ˈtāt\

rotated; rotating

Definition of rotate (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

1a : to perform an act, function, or operation in turn

b : to pass or alternate in a series

2 : to turn about an axis or a center : revolve especially : to move in such a way that all particles follow circles with a common angular velocity about a common axis

transitive verb

1a : to cause to turn or move about an axis or a center

b : to cause (a plane region or line) to sweep out a volume or surface by moving around an axis so that each of its points remains at a constant distance from the axis generate a torus by rotating a circle about an external line

2 : to cause to grow in rotation rotate crops

3 : to cause to pass or act in a series : alternate

4 : to exchange (individuals or units) with others

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Examples of rotate in a Sentence

Verb

As the gear rotates, it turns the other gears. The Earth rotates on its axis. The planets rotate around the sun. The software allows you to rotate images. Rotate the sheet of paper 90 degrees. The staff rotates the weekend shift. We rotate—she does the dishes one week; I do them the next. You should rotate your car's tires once a year.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Rotate pie plate about 15° (if the top of the pie is the 12 o’clock mark, turn it to 2 o’clock). — Rick Martinez, Bon Appetit, "BA's Best Blueberry Pie," 10 July 2017 Rotate steaks 45 degrees and cook another 2 minutes. — Milwaukee, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Grilled Kansas City Strip Steaks," 3 July 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

But the overlay also revealed the bandwidth sent over the server, which was very low when the scene remained fixed or was rotated slowly. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "I played Shadow of the Tomb Raider over 5G, and it didn't suck," 11 Sep. 2018 The categories moved to commercial breaks will be rotated by the Academy each year, the organization said. — Erich Schwartzel, WSJ, "Academy Scraps Plan for Controversial ‘Popular Film’ Award," 6 Sep. 2018 Both sides have goals in them and if the teams are rotated those forwards will want to impress. — SI.com, "World Cup Preview: England vs Belgium - Recent Form, Previous Encounter, Predictions & More," 27 June 2018 During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he has been rotated in as a substitute for the Swedish national squad. — Raisa Bruner, Time, "What You Need to Know About World Cup Player Jimmy Durmaz," 27 June 2018 Toilet-paper rolls will work, but elbow fittings are best, because they can be rotated in the hole to redirect output. — Popular Mechanics, "3 Energy-Saving Ways To Keep Your House Cooler This Summer," 27 June 2018 Firefighters are rotated about every 30 minutes, Walker said. — Lauren Fox And Robert A. Cronkleton, kansascity, "Firefighters battling a condo fire in Kansas City's Northland. No one injured in blaze," 18 June 2018 The two menus were rotated in-and-out monthly on Viking's first world cruise. — Gene Sloan, USA TODAY, "Why Viking Cruises may have the most ambitious culinary program at sea," 17 June 2018 In any case, the most likely explanation for the pinwheel structure has a rapidly rotating Wolf-Rayet star at its center, which makes this a possible long-duration gamma ray burst precursor. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Scientists spot two massive stars creating a pinwheel of dust," 20 Nov. 2018

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