as in rotating
to move in circles around an axis or center
the ballerina pirouetted across the stage
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Recent Examples of pirouetting
During the pandemic, San Diego Ballet dancers were filmed pirouetting on the rooftop of The San Diego Museum of Art, surrounded by bird’s-eye views of Balboa Park.
—
Marcia Luttrell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Oct. 2025
Marcia Luttrell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pirouetting
Verb
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Gu executed back-to-back double corks—rotating twice off-axis in the air.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
9 Feb. 2026
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That motion flows directly into a backflip, with Atlas tucking its body tightly, rotating midair, and landing cleanly on both feet.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Without Champions League football in 2026-27, there is every chance United will have to borrow money to spend significantly and dip back into their revolving credit facility — essentially, a bank overdraft — which funded much of last summer’s £215million expenditure.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
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On the positive side, there isn't too much panic on the credit side of the equation yet for the sector, according to one banker, with revolving lines of credit not yet being drawn.—
Seema Mody,
CNBC,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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For her winning run, Gremaud, a 26-year-old who has last year’s world championship title to go with her two Olympic golds, skied backward, then flipped twice while spinning once and nailed the landing.—
Eddie Pells,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
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Patagonia’s proprietary synthetic fill imitates down’s structure by spinning air-trapping microfilaments around a central fiber and requires fewer stabilizing seams and baffles than down.—
Kelly Bastone,
Outside,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As soon as the referee called Wildcats ball, Karaban started twirling his finger, begging his bench for a review.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
31 Jan. 2026
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Chuky said, twirling a thick finger at Adi’s rifle.—
Jonathan Miles,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pirouetting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pirouetting. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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