gyre

American  

[jahy^uhr] / dʒaɪər /

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 British  

/ dʒaɪə /

noun

1. a circular or spiral movement or path

2. a ring, circle, or spiral

---

verb

1. (intr) to whirl

gyre Scientific  

/ jīr /

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

Derived Forms

• subgyre
  noun
• supergyre
  noun

Etymology

Origin of gyre

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

Explanation

Use the word gyre when you describe the spiral shape that petals make in the face of a flower. You can use the noun gyre in a variety of ways, but it always means a kind of circle, especially one that coils or spirals. You'll see a gyre when you look straight at certain blossoms — the rings of petals in a rose, for example, form a gyre. Some plants have gyres of leaves making concentric circles. In late Middle English, to gyre was to "spin something around in circles," from the Greek root word gyros, "circle or ring."

Example Sentences

"If there isn't social buy-in, we're not done," the show's co-writer and rapper S'bo Gyre said.

From Reuters • Nov. 23, 2023

Ousland had planned their route to capitalize on two predictable Arctic Sea currents, the Beaufort Gyre and Transpolar Drift.

From National Geographic • Dec. 24, 2020

The Widening Gyre by John Scalzi, October 16th John Scalzi also has a second book hitting stores this year: Widening Gyre, the sequel to 2017 novel The Collapsing Empire.

From The Verge • Jan. 5, 2018

Initial calculations suggested a moored design would collect about 40% of the plastic in the North Pacific Gyre within 10 years.

From Science Magazine • May 11, 2017

"Sea ice in the region circulates clockwise with the Weddell Gyre, rather than remaining in one place, and icebergs can be carried with this, sometimes out into the Southern Ocean," explained Prof Luckman.

From BBC • Jan. 19, 2017