as in to rotate
to move in circles around an axis or center
the kayaker had got sucked into the whirlpool, and his kayak was pinwheeling helplessly
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of pinwheel
The man in the white vest pinwheeled his arms, ushering volunteers through the pick-up line outside the Salvation Army Community Center on Fourth Street with military precision.
—
Lizzie Johnson, SFChronicle.com, 25 Dec. 2019
Some upper-level energy may move through the region, pinwheeling from the New England storm.
—Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2019
According to the space agency, IC 2051 is a spiral galaxy, noticeable in its whirling, pinwheeling arms and a bar of stars cutting through its center.
—Fox News, 23 Dec. 2019
The result is a vertiginous nausea that sends me pinwheeling toward the bathroom, though the men still breathe at a decibel level loud enough to permeate its heavy chestnut door.
—Barrett Swanson, Harper's magazine, 28 Oct. 2019
See all Example Sentences for pinwheel 
Lizzie Johnson, SFChronicle.com, 25 Dec. 2019
Some upper-level energy may move through the region, pinwheeling from the New England storm.
—Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2019
According to the space agency, IC 2051 is a spiral galaxy, noticeable in its whirling, pinwheeling arms and a bar of stars cutting through its center.
—Fox News, 23 Dec. 2019
The result is a vertiginous nausea that sends me pinwheeling toward the bathroom, though the men still breathe at a decibel level loud enough to permeate its heavy chestnut door.
—Barrett Swanson, Harper's magazine, 28 Oct. 2019
See all Example Sentences for pinwheel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinwheel
Verb
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These counter height stools have a 360-degree rotating seat, so users can seamlessly swivel to face towards or away from the counter.—
Maggie Horton,
People.com,
27 Jan. 2025
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While the reasons for the staggering weather are not fully understood, the researchers interpret these winds to be six times faster than the speed at which the planet itself rotates.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Image Image The next several weeks revolved entirely around his recovery, but Areej was not hopeful that his body or soul would ever heal.—
Alia Malek,
New York Times,
17 Jan. 2025
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Many of the action showpieces revolve not around Fok, but rather MC Cheung’s young and agile cop Lee, who came up under the inspector’s mentorship and continues to take down bad guys the old-fashioned way.—
James Marsh,
Deadline,
10 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Scientists traced one to the turbulent, magnetically active region around a rapidly spinning star called a magnetar.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN,
26 Jan. 2025
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Accelerate Gradually Avoid sudden acceleration, which can cause tires to spin.—
Staff report,
Hartford Courant,
25 Jan. 2025
Verb
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They were also printed on blue on white towels for fans to twirl at Ford Field.—
Larry Lage,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Jan. 2025
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Nor does Coppola do her lead or the film any favors by continually cutting away to slo-mo scenes of Anderson twirling around outside and staring forlornly at the horizon, which gives off heavy student-film vibes.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
8 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pinwheel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinwheel. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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