whirl
verb (used without object)
to turn around, spin, or rotate rapidly.
had been whirling
-
past perfect progressiveof whirl.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Inside the small house, her well-made furniture, with its carved arms and curved legs, lay scattered as if some giant Mixmaster had been whirling away.
From Time Magazine Archive
For the last two hours he had been whirling a pair of dumb-bells in the air—he called them “poises”—and singing to himself a song with no words and no tune.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
All night her brain had been whirling in a perfect chaos of thought as she reviewed her advent to the farm.
From The Golden Woman A Story of the Montana Hills by Ridgwell Cullum
Nearly all the past week they had been whirling briskly; now, being rather out of breath, they rocked lazily in the clear, still air.
From Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
Old Tobe had been whirling from one side to the other, and glaring hither and thither, till in desperation he got up and began to nudge and pinch the delinquents.
From The Earth Trembled by Edward Payson Roe
