pinwheeling

verb

present participle of pinwheel
as in rotating
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

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinwheeling
  1. rotating
  2. revolving
  3. spinning
Verb
  • That allows capabilities such as rotating the vehicle almost on the spot and maintaining directional stability when a tire suddenly loses pressure.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 8 Nov. 2026
  • My favorite spot to unwind was at Vilah, a bright café and coworking space on the 10th floor with a rotating Thai art exhibition.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of rotating
Verb
  • Goldblum also joined the conversation in the comments, responding with a series of revolving heart emojis.
    — Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Business credit cards Like traditional credit cards, business credit cards can cover everyday expenses and provide a revolving source of financing.
    — Dan Avery, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of revolving
Verb
  • By spinning up nostalgia for a kind of luxurious rap stardom that barely exists anymore, Baby Osamaa comes up with a sketch of what her own big-budget major label debut would look like.
    — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 4 Nov. 2026
  • With low pressure already spinning away in the Gulf of Alaska, any stable atmosphere that moves east will pull that Gulf of Alaska low south, where it will quickly be saturated with extra moisture from El Niño and form an atmospheric river.
    — Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of spinning
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.

Browse Nearby Words

pinwheeled
pinwheeling
pinwheels
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pinwheeling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinwheeling. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of wabi-sabi

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All