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whirl - 9 dictionary results

whirl

[hwurl, wurl]
–verb (used without object)
1. to turn around, spin, or rotate rapidly: The merry-go-round whirled noisily.
2. to turn about or aside quickly: He whirled and faced his pursuers.
3. to move, travel, or be carried rapidly along: She whirled along the freeway in her new car.
4. to feel as though spinning rapidly; reel as from dizziness: My head began to whirl.
–verb (used with object)
5. to cause to turn around, spin, or rotate rapidly.
6. to send, drive, or carry in a circular or curving course.
7. to drive, send, or carry along with great or dizzying rapidity.
8. Obsolete. to hurl.
–noun
9. the act of whirling; rapid rotation or gyration.
10. a whirling movement; quick turn or swing.
11. a short drive, run, walk, or the like; spin.
12. something that whirls; a whirling current or mass.
13. a rapid round of events, affairs, etc.: a whirl of meetings, conferences, and business lunches.
14. a state marked by dizziness or a dizzying succession of feelings, thoughts, etc.
15. an attempt or trial, esp. one undertaken tentatively or experimentally: Even if you don't agree with my plan, won't you give it a whirl?
16. Machinery. whip (def. 26).

Origin:
1250–1300; ME whirlen < ON hvirfla to whirl, akin to OE hwyrflung turning, revolving, hwyrfel circuit; see whorl


whirler, noun
whirl⋅ing⋅ly, adverb


1. gyrate, pirouette. 1, 5. revolve, twirl, wheel. 9. spin, revolution. 15. try, go, fling, whack.

whip

[hwip, wip] verb, whipped or whipt, whip⋅ping, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to beat with a strap, lash, rod, or the like, esp. by way of punishment or chastisement; flog; thrash: Criminals used to be whipped for minor offenses.
2. to strike with quick, repeated strokes of something slender and flexible; lash: He impatiently whipped his leg with his riding crop.
3. to drive with lashes; urge or force on with, or as with, a lash, rod, etc.
4. to lash or castigate with words.
5. to unite, bring together, or bring into line: The sergeant was ordered to whip the troops into line.
6. Informal. to defeat or overcome: to whip the opposition; to whip a bad habit.
7. to hoist or haul by means of a whip.
8. to move quickly and suddenly; pull, jerk, seize, or the like, with a sudden movement (often fol. by out, in, into, etc.): He whipped his gun out of its holster.
9. to fish (a stream, lake, etc.) with rod and line, esp. by making repeated casts: I whipped the stream all day and caught nothing.
10. to beat (eggs, cream, etc.) to a froth with an eggbeater, whisk, fork, or other implement in order to mix in air and cause expansion.
11. to overlay or cover (cord, rope, etc.) with cord, thread, or the like wound about it: to whip the end of a hawser.
12. to wind (cord, twine, thread, etc.) about something: The tailor whipped the seams with heavy thread.
13. to use a light overcasting stitch in sewing.
–verb (used without object)
14. to move or go quickly and suddenly; dart; whisk: She whipped into the store for some milk.
15. to beat or lash about, as a pennant in the wind.
16. to fish with rod and line, esp. by casting the line frequently.
–noun
17. an instrument for striking, as in driving animals or in punishing, typically consisting of a lash or other flexible part with a more rigid handle.
18. a whipping or lashing stroke or motion.
19. a utensil for whipping; whisk.
20. a dish made of cream or egg whites whipped to a froth with flavoring, often with fruit pulp or the like: prune whip.
21. Politics.
a. a party manager in a legislative body who secures attendance for voting and directs other members.
b. (in Britain) a written call made on members of a party to be in attendance for voting.
22. a windmill vane.
23. Hunting. a whipper-in.
24. a tackle consisting of a fall rove through a single standing block (single whip) so as to change the direction of hauling with no mechanical advantage, or consisting of a fall secured at one end and rove through a single running and a single standing block (double whip) so as to change the direction of hauling with a mechanical advantage of two, neglecting friction. Compare gun tackle.
25. the wrapping around the end of a whipped cord or the like.
26. Also called whirl. Machinery. eccentric rotation of a shaft having its center line slightly curved between supporting bearings.
27. a branchless shoot of a woody plant, esp. one resulting from the first year's growth of a bud or graft.
28. Chiefly British. a person who uses a whip as part of his or her work, as a driver of horses or a coachman.
29. whip in, Hunting. to prevent from wandering, as hounds.
30. whip off, Informal. to write hurriedly: He whipped off three new songs last night.
31. whip up, Informal.
a. to plan or assemble quickly: to whip up a delicious dinner.
b. to incite; arouse; stir: The crowd was whipped up to a frenzy.

Origin:
1200–50; ME w(h)ippe (n.), w(h)ippen (v.); c. D wippen to swing, oscillate; cf. LG wip(pe) quick movement


whiplike, adjective
whipper, noun


1. scourge, flagellate, switch, punish, chastise. 6. beat, conquer. 8, 10. whisk. 17. switch.
whirl   (hwûrl, wûrl)   
v.   whirled, whirl·ing, whirls

v.   intr.
  1. To revolve rapidly about a center or an axis. See Synonyms at turn.
  2. To rotate or spin rapidly: The dancer whirled across the stage.
  3. To turn rapidly, changing direction; wheel: She whirled around to face him.
  4. To have the sensation of spinning; reel: My head is whirling with data.
  5. To move circularly and rapidly in varied, random directions: The wind whirled across the steppes.
v.   tr.
  1. To cause to rotate or turn rapidly: whirl a baton.
  2. To move or drive in a circular or curving course.
  3. To drive at high speed: whirled the motorcycle around the corner.
  4. Obsolete To hurl.
n.  
  1. The act of rotating or revolving rapidly.
  2. Something, such as a cloud of dust, that whirls or is whirled.
  3. A state of confusion; tumult.
  4. A swift succession or round of events: the social whirl.
  5. A state of mental confusion or giddiness; dizziness: My head is in a whirl.
  6. Informal A short trip or ride.
  7. Informal A brief or experimental try: Let's give the plan a whirl.

[Middle English whirlen, probably from Old Norse hvirfla.]
whirl'er n.

Whirl

Whirl\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Whirled; p. pr. & vb. n. Whirling.] [OE. whirlen, probably from the Scand.; cf. Icel. & Sw. hvirfla, Dan. hvirvle; akin to D. wervelen, G. wirbeln, freq. of the verb seen in Icel. hverfa to turn. [root]16. See Wharf, and cf. Warble, Whorl.]

1. To turn round rapidly; to cause to rotate with velocity; to make to revolve.

He whirls his sword around without delay. --Dryden.

2. To remove or carry quickly with, or as with, a revolving motion; to snatch; to harry. --Chaucer.

See, see the chariot, and those rushing wheels, That whirled the prophet up at Chebar flood. --Milton.

The passionate heart of the poet is whirl'd into folly. --Tennyson.

Whirl

Whirl\, v. i. 1. To be turned round rapidly; to move round with velocity; to revolve or rotate with great speed; to gyrate. "The whirling year vainly my dizzy eyes pursue." --J. H. Newman.

The wooden engine flies and whirls about. --Dryden.

2. To move hastily or swiftly.

But whirled away to shun his hateful sight. --Dryden.

Whirl

Whirl\, n. [Cf. Dan. hvirvel, Sw. hvirfvel, Icel. hvirfill the crown of the head, G. wirbel whirl, crown of the head, D. wervel. See Whirl, v. t.]

1. A turning with rapidity or velocity; rapid rotation or circumvolution; quick gyration; rapid or confusing motion; as, the whirl of a top; the whirl of a wheel. "In no breathless whirl." --J. H. Newman.

The rapid . . . whirl of things here below interrupt not the inviolable rest and calmness of the noble beings above. --South.

2. Anything that moves with a whirling motion.

He saw Falmouth under gray, iron skies, and whirls of March dust. --Carlyle.

3. A revolving hook used in twisting, as the hooked spindle of a rope machine, to which the threads to be twisted are attached.

4. (Bot. & Zo["o]l.) A whorl. See Whorl.
Language Translation for : whirl
Spanish: ir como un relámpago, girar, dar vueltas,
German: wirbeln,
Japanese: さっと動く

whirl  (v.)
c.1290, probably from O.N. hvirfla "to go round, spin," related to hvirfill "circle, ring, crown," and to O.E. hweorfan "to turn" (see whir). Whirlpool is attested from 1529, but O.E. had hwyrfepol and wirfelmere; whirlwind is c.1340, probably on model of O.N. hvirfilvindr. Whirligig is from 1440, of various toys. Whirlybird "helicopter" is from 1951.

whirl  (n.)
1411, "flywheel of a spindle," from whirl (v.). The meaning "act of whirling" is recorded from c.1480; fig. sense of "confused activity" is recorded from 1552. Colloq. sense of "tentative attempt" is attested from 1884, Amer.Eng.
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