gyrate
Americanverb (used without object)
adjective
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gyrate
First recorded in 1820–30, gyrate is from the Latin word gȳrātus (past participle of gȳrāre to turn around). See gyr-, -ate 1
Explanation
When things turn or spin on an axis, like the seats on a whirling amusement park ride, they gyrate. When you spin a top, you watch it gyrate. An axis is a fixed, imaginary point or line that something rotates around — the Earth, famously, turns on an axis. If an object spins rapidly around this point, it gyrates. Many kinds of engines gyrate, and so do pinwheels, windmills, and gyroscopes. Even Elvis's hips were said to gyrate! The root of the verb gyrate is the Latin word for "circle," gyrus, which in turn comes from the Greek gyros, "circle or ring."
Vocabulary lists containing gyrate
Warriors Don't Cry
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You Bring the Distant Near
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Prom Time
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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.
Dealmaking in the oil-and-gas sector, in particular, has faced challenges as oil prices gyrate.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Those bearing the structures often gyrate to the beat provided by percussionists alongside religious chants and devotional folk songs.
From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026
Jobless claims tend to gyrate during the holiday season, between Thanksgiving and early in the new year.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 11, 2025
Also: a temperament that doesn’t gyrate with the whims of a news cycle — not to mention a close, personal relationship with the president.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 18, 2023
He saw the two dial indicators gyrate frantically.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
