rotate
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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rotates,
present (3rd person singular)
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rotated,
past participle, past
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rotating
present participle
-
to cause to turn around an axis or center point; revolve.
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to cause to go through a cycle of changes; cause to pass or follow in a fixed routine of succession.
to rotate farm crops.
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to replace (a person, troops, etc.) by another or others, usually according to a schedule or plan.
verb (used without object)
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rotates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rotated,
past participle, past
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rotating
present participle
-
to turn around on or as if on an axis.
-
to proceed in a fixed routine of succession.
The sentries rotated in keeping watch.
adjective
verb
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to turn or cause to turn around an axis, line, or point; revolve or spin
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to follow or cause to follow a set order or sequence
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(of a position, presidency, etc) to pass in turn from one eligible party to each of the other eligible parties
-
(of staff) to replace or be replaced in turn
adjective
Synonym Usage
See turn.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonrotatableadjective
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nonrotatingadjective
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rotatableadjective
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unrotatedadjective
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unrotatingadjective
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rotatablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rotatesimple
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rotatessimple
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have rotatedperfect
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has rotatedperfect
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am rotatingprogressive
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are rotatingprogressive
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is rotatingprogressive
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have been rotatingperfect progressive
-
has been rotatingperfect progressive
Past
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rotatedsimple
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had rotatedperfect
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was rotatingprogressive
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were rotatingprogressive
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had been rotatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rotate1
First recorded in 1800–10; from Latin rotātus (past participle of rotāre “to cause to spin, roll, move in a circle”), equivalent to rot(a) “wheel” + -ātus -ate 1
Origin of rotate2
1775–85; < Latin rot ( a ) wheel + -ate 1
Explanation
Rotate means to circle around a center point. Wheels on a car rotate, planets rotate, and if you're an ice skater, you rotate on the blade of a skate when you do your spins. Rotate can also mean that you take turns performing a job. If you, Jim, and Shelia all got the same amount of votes in the class election, you could rotate the role of treasurer, meaning the position would pass from one to another in a regular pattern. Rotate can also refer to other things that are passed along in a regular order. You might rotate lawn duties with your brother — that means you mow the lawn one week and he mows it the next.
Vocabulary lists containing rotate
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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Earth and the Solar System - Introductory
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Fish in a Tree
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Holding court, he had Joe Root and Rehan Ahmed alike involved in a batting drill on how to rotate the strike against spin.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
When a weak magnetic field is applied, the polarization of those nuclear spins begins to rotate.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
The four networks along with CNN rotate the coverage which is shared with other news organizations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
When discussing Microsoft in a follow-up email, Reyna wrote that “even an established AI leader can rotate out as the methodology responds to changing fundamentals, valuation, momentum, and other factors.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
It means that they rotate among one group of teachers, and I rotate among another set.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
The naming of tropical storms and hurricanes is a job for the World Meteorological Organization, which rotates them out every six years and retires them after a given storm causes too much destruction.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
Stars in a very close binary can become tidally locked, meaning each star rotates on its axis at the same rate that the pair orbits one another.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
SGX’s derivatives platform is deepening as a regional risk management venue as macroeconomic risks increase and capital rotates to Asia, the analyst says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
When the market rotates, everything you own falls at once.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Scoob rotates back forward and a surge of tears blurs his vision as Dad pulls up in front of the place.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
An unsatisfactory solution is currently in place: the champions in the West and Southwest go up automatically while a third automatic promotion spot is rotated among the other three leagues in a three-year cycle.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
A hurricane is an engine that pulls in heat and is rotated by wind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The ceremony has rotated among the four broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
It also briefly emerged last fall, as investors rotated away from tech and into stocks that had been lagging behind.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
Feathery clouds drifted across the surface as the image rotated leisurely.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
Investors may be rotating out of semiconductors into megacap tech names, Favuzza wrote in a Wednesday note.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
"One plausible explanation is that the merger produced a rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron star -- known as a magnetar -- that powered the extended X-ray emission and continued energy injection," said Yin.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
As a result, Microsoft is rotating people through more areas of the company faster, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Disney's coverage also featured a vegetable platter being served and a rotating floor.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Thus, she distributed behind her, rotating through the room, a record of her meals, a calendar in rinds and cores.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
