swirled; swirling; swirls
1
a
: to move with an eddying or whirling motion
swirling water
b
: to pass in whirling confusion
2
: to have a twist or convolution
: to cause to swirl
swirled her drink
Examples of swirl in a Sentence
Verb
The water swirled around the drain.
kept swirling her lemonade until the ice had melted and it was completely watered down
Noun
A swirl of smoke rose from the chimney.
He painted swirls of color on the canvas.
ice cream with chocolate swirls
Recent Examples on the Web
Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025
Questions have been swirling on campuses in recent days: Will colleges have to cancel special graduation ceremonies for marginalized groups?
—Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025
Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025
The intrigue: There's a swirl of rumors regarding who could run for governor of Tennessee in two years since incumbent Gov. Bill Lee is term-limited.
—Nate Rau, Axios, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for swirl
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Verb
Rumors have swirled for years that the Broccolis have clashed with Amazon over the direction of Bond.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025
Questions have been swirling on campuses in recent days: Will colleges have to cancel special graduation ceremonies for marginalized groups?
—Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025
Noun
There was a black swirl of smoke as Hertz hit the PCH, reducing visibility to near zero.
—Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025
The intrigue: There's a swirl of rumors regarding who could run for governor of Tennessee in two years since incumbent Gov. Bill Lee is term-limited.
—Nate Rau, Axios, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for swirl
Cite this Entry
“Swirl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swirl. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
swirl
1 of 2 noun1
: a whirling mass or motion : eddy
2
: whirling confusion
lost in the swirl of events
3
: a twisting shape, mark, or pattern
swirl
2 of 2 verb1
: to move with or pass in a swirl
2
: to be marked with or arranged in swirls
3
: to cause to swirl
swirlingly
adverb
ˈswər-liŋ-lē
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