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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pinwheel
Forecasters warned of the arrival Thursday into Friday of a second intensifying low pressure area, which will pinwheel around the first bomb cyclone in an atmospheric interaction known as the Fujiwara Effect.
—
Andrew Freedman,
Axios,
18 Nov. 2024
Some of the outer rain bands and a few storms from Beta will pinwheel into the area from the east and southeast.
—
Dallas News,
20 Sep. 2020
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
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
See All Example Sentences for pinwheel
Andrew Freedman,
Axios,
18 Nov. 2024
Some of the outer rain bands and a few storms from Beta will pinwheel into the area from the east and southeast.
—
Dallas News,
20 Sep. 2020
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
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
See All Example Sentences for pinwheel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinwheel
Verb
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The weekly series along the New River also includes live music, a farmers and craft market with a rotating lineup of local businesses and artisans, as well as gourmet food vendors.
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Deschamps has rotated between Lucas Digne and Théo Hernandez in that position with both players much more effective going forward than covering the space behind them.
Verb
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The innovation used a revolving cylinder and a reversible wringer to separate and clean clothing.
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For those carrying tens of thousands of dollars in revolving debt, those interest charges can make the repayment process feel like a moving target.
Verb
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Codex can be helpful for a wide range of tasks like generating spreadsheets for monthly reports, using a call transcript to prepare a brief and log it into Salesforce or spinning up six different types of content from one piece of text.
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There is surely some retroactive continuity here, the writer going back in time to spin an origin story about the idea that would become the center of her spiritual writing.
Verb
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Throngs of people gather to watch troupes perform ballet over the hum of violin strings, twirl to Hindi music in traditional Indian dress, and even stomp to heavy metal.
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Keith twirled the edges in his fingers and flipped the long part back and forth over his shoulder.
Cite this Entry
“Pinwheel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinwheel. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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