pinwheel

as in to rotate
to move in circles around an axis or center the kayaker had got sucked into the whirlpool, and his kayak was pinwheeling helplessly

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pinwheel The man in the white vest pinwheeled his arms, ushering volunteers through the pick-up line outside the Salvation Army Community Center on Fourth Street with military precision. Lizzie Johnson, SFChronicle.com, 25 Dec. 2019 Some upper-level energy may move through the region, pinwheeling from the New England storm. Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2019 According to the space agency, IC 2051 is a spiral galaxy, noticeable in its whirling, pinwheeling arms and a bar of stars cutting through its center. Fox News, 23 Dec. 2019 The result is a vertiginous nausea that sends me pinwheeling toward the bathroom, though the men still breathe at a decibel level loud enough to permeate its heavy chestnut door. Barrett Swanson, Harper's magazine, 28 Oct. 2019 See All Example Sentences for pinwheel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinwheel
Verb
  • The Zillion Direct’s slot panel is rectangular, and the plug is designed to fill the gap that’s created whenever a builder rotates the panel to enable a vertical graphics card orientation.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 15 Mar. 2025
  • If trade tensions ease and growth metrics strengthen, investors may rotate away from defensive assets such as gold and back into growth equities.
    Garth Friesen, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • McRae showcased the song inside a white box fitted with a revolving floor and spotlight.
    Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2025
  • The filing also details amendments to revolving promissory note agreements with principal stockholders, extending maturity dates and increasing maximum principal indebtedness.
    Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 5 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Lausanne, where pulsing house beats and spinning vinyl records defined an era.
    Roberta Naas, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
  • Reductive as the outcome may be, the writer-director remains undeniably daring, spinning comedy from an inferiority complex and coming out on top.
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 15 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The hitmaker clocked the most hours of anyone, twirling and twerking (with a champagne glass in hand) to every song on the DJ’s set list from ABBA and Gloria Estefan to Kendrick Lamar.
    Angelique Jackson, Variety, 3 Mar. 2025
  • Batherson twirled his stick before tucking it back like a sword remaining in its sheath.
    Julian McKenzie, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Pinwheel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinwheel. Accessed 19 Mar. 2025.

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