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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pinwheel
Forecasters warned of the arrival Thursday into Friday of a second intensifying low pressure area, which will pinwheel around the first bomb cyclone in an atmospheric interaction known as the Fujiwara Effect.
—
Andrew Freedman, Axios, 18 Nov. 2024
Some of the outer rain bands and a few storms from Beta will pinwheel into the area from the east and southeast.
—Dallas News, 20 Sep. 2020
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
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
See All Example Sentences for pinwheel
Andrew Freedman, Axios, 18 Nov. 2024
Some of the outer rain bands and a few storms from Beta will pinwheel into the area from the east and southeast.
—Dallas News, 20 Sep. 2020
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
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
See All Example Sentences for pinwheel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinwheel
Verb
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For Love in the Time of Cholera, 1989, for instance, Pau uses early Picture-in-Picture (PiP) technology to frame clips from Zuni’s 1988 October/Decameron stage performance, which then float, rotate, and cascade across the screen.—
Pauline J. Yao,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
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The collection includes thousands of pieces on rotating exhibit.—
Marla Jo Fisher,
Oc Register,
1 May 2026
Verb
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That structure can make budgeting easier and provide a clearer timeline for becoming debt-free compared to paying just the minimum on a revolving credit card balance, which can stretch the repayment process out for years or even decades.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
4 May 2026
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States can expand the role of green banks and revolving loan funds, using limited public dollars to unlock significantly larger pools of private investment.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Even brand-name billionaire developer Rick Caruso’s $100 million-plus campaign war chest and spin on latter-day Rockefeller Republicanism couldn’t win him the mayoralty last go-around.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
2 May 2026
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Try Audible for free Hands caked with mud, fingertips diced by a thousand tiny cuts, and my wheels were spinning again.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
Verb
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These problems are so much more than any one mustache-twirling villain could ever hope to be.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
30 Apr. 2026
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But when the bands of light begin to balletically twirl, pulse, jump, fade, and then burst back like a tornado pushing through the Wizard’s green haze in Oz, sleep is all but forgotten.—
Heather Greenwood Davis,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pinwheel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinwheel. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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