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gyre
[ jahyuhr ]
/ dʒaɪər /
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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. 2022
How to use gyre in a sentence
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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