gyre

[jahy^uhr]

noun

1. a ring or circle.

2. a circular course or motion.

3. Oceanography.,  a ringlike system of ocean currents rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

gyre

/ dʒaɪə /

noun

1. a circular or spiral movement or path

2. a ring, circle, or spiral

verb

1. (intr) to whirl

gyre

1. 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.

Other Word Forms

• subgyre noun
• supergyre noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gyre¹

1560–70; < Latin gȳrus < Greek gŷros ring, circle

Word History and Origins

Origin of gyre¹

C16: from Latin gӯrus circle, from Greek guros

Example Sentences

Even if the gyre of contemporary fandom demands mess, spite, flops and redemption arcs, Lipa glides over all of it, with morally sound politics and an immaculately tasteful book club to spare.

From Los Angeles Times

The “widening gyre” foretells the polarization of society, the centrifugal forces tearing the collective fabric into ideological extremes.

From Salon

And it eventually became a much-needed daily dose of serenity to keep the widening gyre of anxiety at bay.

From Los Angeles Times

Watching the gyre of emotions on campuses from Connecticut to California, those words feel as if they could have been written this week.

From Seattle Times

They were carried to the South Pacific by the South Pacific gyre, a circular ocean current.

From National Geographic