gyre

[ jahyuhr ]
See synonyms for gyre on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a ring or circle.

  2. a circular course or motion.

  1. Oceanography. a ringlike system of ocean currents rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Origin of gyre

1
1560–70; <Latin gȳrus<Greek gŷros ring, circle

Other words from gyre

  • sub·gyre, noun
  • su·per·gyre, noun

Words Nearby gyre

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How to use gyre in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gyre

gyre

/ (dʒaɪə) mainly literary /


noun
  1. a circular or spiral movement or path

  2. a ring, circle, or spiral

verb
  1. (intr) to whirl

Origin of gyre

1
C16: from Latin gӯrus circle, from Greek guros

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

Scientific definitions for gyre

gyre

[ jīr ]


  1. A spiral oceanic surface current driven primarily by the global wind system and constrained by the continents surrounding the three ocean basins (Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian). Each ocean basin has a large gyre in the subtropical region, centered around 30° north and south latitude. Smaller gyres occur at 50° north latitude in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The direction of a gyre's rotation is determined by the prevailing winds in the region, with the large subtropical gyres rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

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