pinwheel

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinwheel
Verb
  • Harter rotates between his three go-to flavors: Cherry, Strawberry and Mint — without the chocolate chips.
    Jordan Greene, People.com, 20 Feb. 2025
  • The video in question surfaced on Reddit, and shows the console being rotated 180-degrees, the Joy-Cons snapping into place, and a screen attachment connecting to the bottom USB-C port.
    Jason Evangelho, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • The restaurant on the 47th floor of the Marriott Marquis in Times Square — the city’s only revolving restaurant and bar — is reopening under the management of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group.
    Tanya Sichynsky, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
  • Essay The Agony and the Ecstasy of the West Edmonton Mall Max Fawcett On learning to love the abominable mix of Soviet brutalism and unrelenting American capitalism around which Edmonton revolves.
    Max Ufberg, hazlitt.net, 4 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Recording stops and starts without a hitch; the joystick movements instantly spin the motors; the rear trigger reorients the phone; and the zoom dial zooms the camera view when rotated.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 18 Feb. 2025
  • Once water is spinning on its own, add eggs, one at a time.
    Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 17 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • This was his second consecutive above-average campaign – Scott twirled a 2.31 ERA through 78 innings for Miami in 2023.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 12 Jan. 2025
  • The effect should be laissez-faire, easy-breezy—but getting to that look isn’t as simple as twirling some fabric around your neck and heading out the door.
    Erika Veurink, Vogue, 30 Nov. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Pinwheel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinwheel. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.

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