revolve
Americanverb (used without object)
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revolves,
present (3rd person singular)
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revolved,
past participle, past
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revolving
present participle
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to move in a circular or curving course or orbit.
The earth revolves around the sun.
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to turn around or rotate, as on an axis.
The wheel revolves slowly.
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to proceed or occur in a round or cycle; come around again in the process of time; recur.
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to be revolved in the mind.
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to focus or center on.
verb
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to move or cause to move around a centre or axis; rotate
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(intr) to occur periodically or in cycles
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to consider or be considered
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(intr; foll by around or about) to be centred or focused (upon)
Juliet's thoughts revolved around Romeo
noun
Synonym Usage
See turn.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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revolvesimple
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revolvessimple
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have revolvedperfect
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has revolvedperfect
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am revolvingprogressive
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are revolvingprogressive
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is revolvingprogressive
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have been revolvingperfect progressive
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has been revolvingperfect progressive
Past
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revolvedsimple
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had revolvedperfect
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was revolvingprogressive
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were revolvingprogressive
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had been revolvingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of revolve
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English revolven, from Latin revolvere “to roll back,” equivalent to re- re- + volvere “to roll, turn round”
Explanation
When something revolves, it turns on an axis or in an orbit around something else. People who love you probably think the world revolves around you (but really, the earth revolves around the sun). Revolve comes from those useful Latin roots re- "again" or "back" and volvere "roll," as seen in evolution, involve, and lots of other familiar words. Picture a revolving door, and you can understand what it means to revolve, or turn in a circular motion.
Vocabulary lists containing revolve
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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Earth and the Solar System - Introductory
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Earth and Space 2: Space
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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.
See Examples For:
We stopped accepting every invitation, and that’s when I realized how much of the friendship had come to revolve around spending.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
For all its fluff, it does occasionally show its teeth, even when much of the story revolves around women whose lives revolve around men.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
But they also gather amid significant political headwinds, much of which revolve around money.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
His activities this summer now revolve around partnering with the United Nations Development Program to gather global support for Venezuela’s recovery, which is estimated at $6.7 billion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
However, five main contributing factors can still be identified; the controversies revolve mainly around their relative importance.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
For all its fluff, it does occasionally show its teeth, even when much of the story revolves around women whose lives revolve around men.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Robert De Niro has spent more than five decades building one of Hollywood’s most celebrated careers—and an incredibly unique property portfolio, one that revolves heavily around his hometown of New York.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
Meta's business model revolves around selling advertising, and the company earns more when users spend more time on its apps.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
The fight revolves around a one-mile stretch of Forest Lawn Drive — a commuter route linking the Valley and Hollywood — and the main road serving Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills and Mount Sinai Memorial Park.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
It’s like trying to imagine any falsehood: that the sun revolves around the earth; that humans can fly; that the world is nonviolent.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
So much of the extensive press tour for “Practical Magic 2” — based on the 2021 novel “The Book of Magic” written by Alice Hoffman — has revolved around the original film’s tepid reception.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Turkey's interests in Syria historically revolved around preventing a spillover of Kurdish fighters.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
An industry that once revolved around information shared at private clubs or events has become a highly digitized landscape.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Much of the excitement revolved around the fact that “The Odyssey” was the first feature shot entirely on Imax 70mm film, a technical achievement that involved the invention of a new camera.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Scripture reading at 8:30 each morning for all who were in the house was another of the fixed points around which life in the Beje revolved.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
We had this revolving door of carers looking after my mum, and I didn't even know their name - let alone how the care was going.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
It also adapted Justin Simien’s indie flick “Dear White People” into an in-your-face comedy revolving around the Black experience at an Ivy League college.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
It argued the plan should focus on three key priorities - revolving around data, targets and investment.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
The Series C investment, which included other venture-capital firms, includes $800 million in equity and a $250 million revolving credit facility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Above us fore and aft were more levels—a climbing wall, a putt-putt golf course, a revolving restaurant, but no sign of life.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
