swivels

verb

present tense third-person singular of swivel
as in rotates
to move (something) in a curved or circular path on or as if on an axis the cat swiveled one ear to listen to a sound outside swiveled around in his office chair

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 swivels At the top of our Zoom call, Nick Mohammed swivels his camera around to show off a shelf of thick books. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 28 Oct. 2026 The reel mounts to the wall with a two-point bracket (included) and smoothly swivels 180 degrees. — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Aug. 2026 Alison swivels her head towards Kyle. — Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026 Easy to stash in a purse or beach bag, the stick swivels up so no sharpening is required—nor is a brush. — Jenny Berg, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swivels
  1. rotates
  2. twirls
  3. turns
  4. swings
  5. spins
  6. twists
  7. pivots
Verb
  • Glenn rotates pass rushers, and nine different Jets have a sack, as New York is tied for fifth with 17 sacks as a team.
    — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The company’s latest hardware, called Helios, rotates the ions around a ring, selectively shifting the appropriate ones into one of two arms where measurements and operations of the ions’ quantum states can be performed using lasers.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of rotates
Verb
  • Inside, Benjamin Davalos twirls his measuring jigger and, with a turn of his wrist, releases a swallow’s worth of straight rye.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 14 July 2026
  • With smoke streaming from his mouth and nose, McTominay twirls the delighted older man around.
    — Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 16 June 2026
Definition of twirls
Verb
  • For example, Blue Eastern red-cedar (Juniperus virginiana ‘Glauca’) is a narrow, upright, columnar evergreen tree that grows 20 to 25 feet high and 8 to 10 feet wide, with silver-blue spring foliage that turns blue-green in summer.
    — Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Sometimes the coral turns colorfully fluorescent before bleaching.
    — Connie Hanzhang Jin, NPR, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of turns
Verb
  • As the weight swings forward, thrust your hips forward and stand up.
    — Jenessa Connor, HEALTH, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Now, everyone just swings for the fences and all too often winds up striking out.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of swings
Verb
  • Through stoicism, Nighthawks spins the dark side of American life as cool; its quiet menace is slick and alluring, and its lonesome, shadowy characters are iconic.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In a flowing, ice-blond wig, Ashford’s character spins an escalating series of imperial atrocities.
    — Mariah Kreutter, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of spins
Verb
  • And the attack against Brown twists a 2023 interview where Brown stated that a child’s medical decisions belong between families and doctors, not politicians.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The premise is fantasy, but because that chaos is there, people become entangled with one another, the story twists and winds, and the work as a whole becomes realistic.
    — Billboard Japan, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of twists
Verb
  • The story still pivots around Morgan’s lovable doofus, but the emphasis is elsewhere.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In addition, Qualcomm cut jobs earlier this month as the company pivots towards AI data centers and non-smartphone markets.
    — Ian Thomas,Colleen McKown, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of pivots

Browse Nearby Words

swiveling
swivels
swivet
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Swivels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swivels. Accessed 10 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 defer

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
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

The Longest Long Words List

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