gyre
[ jahyuh r ]
/ dʒaɪər /
noun
a ring or circle.
a circular course or motion.
Oceanography. a ringlike system of ocean currents rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Origin of gyre
1560–70; < Latin gȳrus < Greek gŷros ring, circle
OTHER WORDS FROM gyre
sub·gyre, nounsu·per·gyre, nounWords nearby gyre
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for gyre
Yet with the tsunami debris joining the gyre, the problem is compounding more quickly than anyone can measure.
Japanese Debris Plume From Tsunami Migrating Across Pacific Ocean|Daniel Stone|March 9, 2012|DAILY BEASTGyre (derived from Gayour or Giaour, a dog), “to scratch like a dog.”
Lewis Carroll in Wonderland and at Home|Belle MosesDorsally, the fissure bifurcates, embracing the gyre indented by the caudal limb of the paracentral.
Christian Science|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
British Dictionary definitions for gyre
gyre
/ (dʒaɪə) mainly literary /
noun
a circular or spiral movement or path
a ring, circle, or spiral
verb
(intr) to whirl
Word Origin for gyre
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 ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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