gyre

[ jahyuhr ]

/ dʒaɪər /

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Definition of gyre

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, noun

Words nearby gyre

gyrase, gyrate, gyration, gyrator, gyratory, gyre, gyrectomy, gyrene, gyrfalcon, gyro, gyrocompass

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gyre in a sentence

The gyre, which lies between Hawaii and California, is formed by rotating ocean currents and has, over the past 50 plus years, become a reservoir for plastic litter of all sizes.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a ‘raft of life’ for animals in the open ocean|Kate Baggaley|December 3, 2021|Popular-Science
Side 2 sends Barnes into the twisty, noisy gyre of a 12-minute track called “The Past Is a Grotesque Animal.”
Cry Your Heart Out: The 11 Best Breakup Albums Ever Made|Peter Allen Clark|September 17, 2021|Time
By staying within the gyre, vulnerable young sea turtles can remain relatively safe.
How Sea Turtles Find Their Way - Issue 94: Evolving|Jason G. Goldman|December 16, 2020|Nautilus
Likewise, where the gyre glances off the coast of Africa and returns to the Americas, a second current flowing the opposite direction continues south past the equator and away from the rest of the population.
How Sea Turtles Find Their Way - Issue 94: Evolving|Jason G. Goldman|December 16, 2020|Nautilus

The extremely slow collection of organic material and other sediments below a gyre does allow oxygen in the water to seep deep into the sediment.
Some deep-seafloor microbes still alive after 100 million years!|Carolyn Gramling|September 1, 2020|Science News For Students
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 BEAST
Dorsally, the fissure bifurcates, embracing the gyre indented by the caudal limb of the paracentral.
Christian Science|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
Ay, and the elves and gyre-carlings frae the bonnie bairn, grace be wi' it?
Guy Mannering, or The Astrologer, Complete, Illustrated|Sir Walter Scott
Gyre (derived from Gayour or Giaour, a dog), “to scratch like a dog.”
Lewis Carroll in Wonderland and at Home|Belle Moses

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.

gyre

Definition of gyre

Origin of gyre

OTHER WORDS FROM gyre

Words nearby gyre

Words related to gyre

How to use gyre in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gyre

Word Origin for gyre

Scientific definitions for gyre