swirl
Americanverb (used without object)
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swirls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swirled,
past participle, past
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swirling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
swirls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swirled,
past participle, past
-
swirling
present participle
noun
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swirls
plural
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a swirling movement; whirl; eddy.
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a twist, as of hair around the head or of trimming on a hat.
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any curving, twisting line, shape, or form.
-
confusion; disorder.
verb
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to turn or cause to turn in a twisting spinning fashion
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(intr) to be dizzy; swim
my head was swirling
noun
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a whirling or spinning motion, esp in water
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a whorl; curl
-
the act of swirling or stirring
-
dizzy confusion
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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swirlsimple
-
swirlssimple
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have swirledperfect
-
has swirledperfect
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am swirlingprogressive
-
are swirlingprogressive
-
is swirlingprogressive
-
have been swirlingperfect progressive
-
has been swirlingperfect progressive
Past
-
swirledsimple
-
had swirledperfect
-
was swirlingprogressive
-
were swirlingprogressive
-
had been swirlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of swirl
1375–1425; late Middle English (north) < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian svirla; cognate with Dutch zwirrelen to whirl, German (dial.) schwirrlen to totter; all < a root *swir- (whence Danish svirre to whirl, German schwirren to whir) + -l- frequentative suffix
Explanation
To swirl is to turn in circles or spirals, the way a leaf caught in a whirlpool swirls, or a toy duck swirls in the bathtub as you empty the water out. Smoke might swirl up from your campfire, keeping the mosquitos that swirl through the air nearby from biting you. Or you can swirl on a carnival ride that spins you in circles until you step back onto the ground and the world swirls for a while, until you regain your balance. Swirl is a noun, too, as in a swirl of dust. It was originally Scottish for "whirlpool."
Vocabulary lists containing swirl
"Joyas Voladoras" by Brian Doyle
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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"The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet"
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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:
Bulgarians were voting in a presidential election on Sunday, as security concerns swirl following a series of drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
Similar concerns now swirl around the Future Investment Initiative, Saudi Arabia’s flagship business conference, which is set for the end of the month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Often, it helps to see a visual representation of your finances in black and white so you can deal with the hard facts, rather than the swirl of anxiety that accompanies them.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
The backdrop to this conference was the swirl of questions about money even before Channel 4 News', and Verbatim Investigations', endeavours.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
And upon a closer look it can be discerned that the swirl of the tattoo is more than simple black marks.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
"Now we see the plasma is incredibly dense, such that it is able to slow down a quark, and produces splashes and swirls like a liquid. So quark-gluon plasma really is a primordial soup."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
Pili has spent the week quietly slipping through corridors while the media storm swirls around Taylor.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
He takes time to let us hear what a glacier sounds like while showing the swirls of blue ice, but also what it looks like when glaciers collapse and vanish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
We note how the small scale, finely drawn swirls of her sleeve are challenged by the suave oval of her face and the emphatic line of her shoulder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
All I see are swirls of reddish brown.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
Eisenkot and every member of his bloc bar one has previously refused to enter government with Arab parties, but speculation has swirled in recent days that an agreement could yet be reached.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
When Big Bear’s celebrity eagle died in August, questions swirled over what had gone wrong.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Speculation that Kelce might retire swirled around after last season’s disappointing finish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
I joined six others on mats on the venue’s galactically swirled green-blue floors.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Anna May swirled her glass, the ice clinking.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
With Pope Leo XIV recovering in hospital on Thursday following his lung cancer operation, questions are swirling about how the illness could change his papacy, less than two years after his election.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Material falling toward a black hole, for example, often forms a swirling disk around it before moving inward.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Despite the extensive commentary swirling around the burros, surprisingly little is known about the herd itself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
“It’s…sipping, and swirling, and the noise, and the wet hand, and then also you think it drips,” Caitlin Wehniainen, a Miami-based recruiter for Fortune-500 companies, said in an interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Jack quickly looked up from the floor to find Malevolent, her hair swirling around her as she stood in the middle of a tornado of wind and lightning.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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