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Synonyms

twirl

American  
[twurl] / twɜrl /

verb (used with object)

twirls, present (3rd person singular) twirled, past participle, past twirling present participle
  1. to cause to rotate rapidly; spin; revolve; whirl.

  2. to twiddle.

    to twirl my thumbs.

  3. to wind idly, as about something.


verb (used without object)

twirls, present (3rd person singular) twirled, past participle, past twirling present participle
  1. to rotate rapidly; whirl.

  2. to turn quickly so as to face or point in another direction.

noun

twirls plural
  1. an act or instance of twirling; spin; whirl.

  2. something convoluted or having a spiral shape; coil; curl; convolution.

twirl British  
/ twɜːl /

verb

  1. to move or cause to move around rapidly and repeatedly in a circle

  2. (tr) to twist, wind, or twiddle, often idly

    she twirled her hair around her finger

  3. (intr; often foll by around or about) to turn suddenly to face another way

    she twirled around angrily to face him

"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

noun

  1. an act of rotating or being rotated; whirl or twist

  2. something wound around or twirled; coil

  3. a written flourish or squiggle

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

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Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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Etymology

Origin of twirl

First recorded in 1590–1600; tw(ist) + (wh)irl

Vocabulary lists containing twirl

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.

Some tubs will now come with two full-sized Twirl bars, rather than the usual miniature ones.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2022

Then there are the moves: the Flamingo Twirl, the Porpoise Spin, the Swan, the Albatross, the Butterfly, the Heron and the Manta Ray.

From Washington Post • Aug. 7, 2021

O'Brien has four other runners in the race but Betterbetterbetter and Devotion do not seem good enough, while Twirl and Was were a bit disappointing in their recent trial races.

From The Guardian • May 31, 2012

She said the loss of the Pavilion and the Sip n’ Twirl was doubly inconceivable.

From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2011

Twirl this quickly and each guest in turn tries to stab some letter with a hatpin.

From Games for Everybody by Hofmann, May C.

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