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whirl

 - 9 dictionary results

whirl

  [hwurl, wurl]
Use whirl in a Sentence
–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

Related forms:
whirler, noun
whirl⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
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.
—Verb phrases
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

Related forms:
whiplike, adjective
whipper, noun

Synonyms:
1. scourge, flagellate, switch, punish, chastise. 6. beat, conquer. 8, 10. whisk. 17. switch.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To whirl
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

whip

In the United States Congress or state legislatures, an assistant to the majority leader or minority leader responsible for stirring up party support on issues, keeping track of party members' votes, and acting as a general liaison between the majority leader or minority leader and other party members.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
whip

  1. n.
    an expensive car. (Streets. Possibly from the power or control this car gives its owner.) : Great new whip, right? It's a Slade, right?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

whip  (v.)
c.1250, wippen "flap violently," from P.Gmc. *wipp- (cf. Dan. vippe "to raise with a swipe," M.Du., Du. wippen "to swing," O.H.G. wipf "swing, impetus"), from PIE *wib- "move quickly." The noun is attested from c.1325. In parliamentary use from 1850 (the v3rb in this sense is recorded from 1742), from the sense in fox-hunting. The parliamentary whip's duty originally was to ensure the attendance of party members on important occasions. The cookery sense is from 1673. Whipping boy first recorded 1647; whipping block is from c.1877. Whip-saw is attested from 1538; whip snake first recorded 1774.

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

whirl

see give something a whirl.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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