gyrate

[ verb jahy-reyt, jahy-reyt; adjective jahy-reyt ]
See synonyms for: gyrategyrating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),gy·rat·ed, gy·rat·ing.
  1. to move in a circle or spiral, or around a fixed point; whirl.

adjective
  1. Zoology. having convolutions.

Origin of gyrate

1
First recorded in 1820–30, gyrate is from the Latin word gȳrātus (past participle of gȳrāre to turn around). See gyr-, -ate1

Other words for gyrate

Other words from gyrate

  • gy·ra·tor, noun
  • mul·ti·gy·rate, adjective
  • pseu·do·gy·rate, adjective
  • un·gy·rat·ing, adjective

Words Nearby gyrate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use gyrate in a sentence

  • Indeed, watching indexes gyrate offers the elder Kahn endless diversion.

  • A few couples were beginning to gyrate among the fumes of spaghetti and vin ordinaire.

    A Top-Floor Idyl | George van Schaick
  • At times when close together, several may merge and form a large, irregular, gyrate patch.

    Essentials of Diseases of the Skin | Henry Weightman Stelwagon
  • The molecules show all kinds of possible combinations; the combinations spin, turn head over heels, and gyrate in endless ways.

    Occult Chemistry | Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater
  • He then took off his boots and his coat, and standing on his toes he commenced to gyrate with extraordinary rapidity.

    The Crock of Gold | James Stephens
  • The band played out its selection and the Court Fool continued to gyrate.

British Dictionary definitions for gyrate

gyrate

verb(dʒɪˈreɪt, dʒaɪ-)
  1. (intr) to rotate or spiral, esp about a fixed point or axis

adjective(ˈdʒaɪrɪt, -reɪt)
  1. biology curved or coiled into a circle; circinate

Origin of gyrate

1
C19: from Late Latin gӯrāre, from Latin gӯrus circle, from Greek guros

Derived forms of gyrate

  • gyratory (ˈdʒaɪrətərɪ, -trɪ, dʒaɪˈreɪtərɪ), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012