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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinwheeling
  1. rotating
  2. revolving
  3. spinning
Verb
  • Bake, rotating the pan after 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
  • There were bouncers rotating at the door … the tired, the sick, the hungry, the famous and tons of ex-boyfriends [showed up], all regretting their wrongs.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of rotating
Verb
  • The annual event — which unfurls similarly to Last Waltz with its ensemble revolving cast of blues, Americana, country, and rock musicians — initially began as a 70th-birthday celebration of Gregg Allman.
    — Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2026
  • And while inflation has cooled from some of its recent highs, Americans are still paying elevated prices for everyday necessities, leaving less room in the budgets to make meaningful progress on expensive revolving debt.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of revolving
Verb
  • Hubble’s images reveal an intricate web of gas and dust spreading outward from the explosion’s center, where a rapidly spinning neutron star remains.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026
  • In his 12 seasons at Penn State, James Franklin went 4-21 against top-10 opponents and 1-18 against the best in the Big Ten, spinning the Lions and their fans through the same laundry cycle every year.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 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
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Cite this Entry

“Pinwheeling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinwheeling. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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