gyro

[ jahy-roh ]

/ ˈdʒaɪ roʊ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gyro ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural gy·ros.

gyrocompass.

gyroscope.

RELATED WORDS

gyroscope, spinner, whirligig, gyrostat

Nearby words

Origin of gyro

First recorded in 1905–10; independent use of gyro-

gyro

[ jeer-oh, zheer-oh; Greek yee-raw ]

/ ˈdʒɪər oʊ, ˈʒɪər oʊ; Greek ˈyi rɔ /

noun Greek Cookery.

meat, usually lamb, roasted on a vertical spit, then thinly sliced, topped with onions, and usually served in a sandwich of pita bread.

Origin of gyro

1970–75; < Modern Greek gŷros literally, turn, revolution; see gyre

gyro-

a combining form meaning “ring,” “circle,” “spiral,” used in the formation of compound words: gyromagnetic; gyroscope.

Also especially before a vowel, gyr-.

Origin of gyro-

< Greek gŷros ring, noun use of gȳrós round

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gyro

Even Garnet's gyro wrap is made with McLane farms seasoned lamb.
Spaghetti for Breakfast?! Not So Crazy at This Idaho Farm Café|Jane & Michael Stern|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We even get appearances by Riff Raff (Richard O'Brien) and the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence) in minor roles.
George R.R. Martin's Top 10 Fantasy Films|George R.R. Martin|April 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The officer of the watch turned aside for a moment from the gyro across which he had been sighting.
Sea-Hounds|Lewis R. Freeman
There should be approximately one minute before the major color changes began, which was also the minimum time for gyro run up.
Far from Home|J.A. Taylor

The robot body tilted, but its gyro kept it from toppling over.
Tom Swift and The Visitor from Planet X|Victor Appleton
Engines of Gilgamesh will not be used except for the heat-disposal and gyro auxiliaries.
The Lost Kafoozalum|Pauline Ashwell
He started the gyro motors, got the great wheels to spinning, and thus stopped the slow, end-over-end turning of the flier.
Salvage in Space|John Stewart Williamson

British Dictionary definitions for gyro

gyro

/ (ˈdʒaɪrəʊ) /

noun plural -ros

See gyrocompass

See gyroscope

gyro-

before a vowel gyr-

combining form

indicating rotating or gyrating motiongyroscope

indicating a spiral

indicating a gyroscopegyrocompass

Word Origin for gyro-

via Latin from Greek guro-, from guros circle

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

Word Origin and History for gyro

gyro

sandwich made from roasted lamb, late 20c., originally the meat itself, as roasted on a rotating spit, from Modern Greek gyros "a circle" (see gyre); mistaken in English for a plural and shorn of its -s.

gyro-

word-forming element meaning "gyrating" or "gyroscope," from comb. form of Greek gyros "ring, circle" (see gyre).