rotation

American  

[roh-tay-shuhn] / roʊˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

• rotations
  plural

1. the act of rotating; a turning around as on an axis.

2. Astronomy.

   1. the movement or path of the earth or a heavenly body turning on its axis.

   2. one complete turn of such a body.

3. regularly recurring succession, as of officials.

4. Agriculture. crop rotation.

5. Mathematics.

   1. an operation that rotates a geometric figure about a fixed point.

   2. curl.

6. Pool. a game in which the balls are played in order by number.

7. Baseball. pitching rotation.

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rotation British  

/ rəʊˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of rotating; rotary motion

2. a regular cycle of events in a set order or sequence

3. a planned sequence of cropping according to which the crops grown in successive seasons on the same land are varied so as to make a balanced demand on its resources of fertility

4. maths

   1. a circular motion of a configuration about a given point or line, without a change in shape

   2. a transformation in which the coordinate axes are rotated by a fixed angle about the origin

   3. Abbreviation (for sense 4c): rot. another name for curl

5. 1. the spinning motion of a body, such as a planet, about an internal axis Compare revolution

   2. one complete turn in such motion

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rotation Scientific  

/ rō-tā′shən /

1. The motion of an object around an internal axis.

2. A single complete cycle of such motion.

3. See Note at revolution

4. A transformation of a coordinate system in which the new axes have a specified angular displacement from their original position while the origin remains fixed.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonrotation
  noun
• nonrotational
  adjective
• rotational
  adjective
• unrotational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rotations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rotation

1545–55; < Latin rotātiōn- (stem of rotātiō ) a rotation, rolling, equivalent to rotāt ( us ) ( see rotate ¹) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

When something turns like a wheel, over and over again, it's in rotation. You can't feel the earth's rotation even though you know it's happening. Even if you find the rotation of clothes in the dryer comforting, it's best to remain on the outside looking in. Rotation can also mean a series that repeats. A baseball team has a "pitching rotation" (five pitchers who take turns starting games), while a song that's on the radio every fifteen minutes is on "heavy rotation."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rotation rotations

“This time indeed, a year-end rally and renewed rotation into Europe likely require lower/stable oil prices, which is anyone’s guess.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

The Dodgers’ starting rotation is their biggest strength going into the postseason.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

“We’ve got a good rotation ... keeping guys fresh and right now I’m liking it,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Given the condensed nature of the games, there is going to be a fair degree of rotation from Slovenia away, to Switzerland at home, to North Macedonia away and Slovenia at home.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

During the forty-five-minute bar rotation, I’d try the release and catch over and over, and I’d miss, cry, miss, cry, miss, cry.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Navy aims for six- or seven-month rotations for carriers, but deployments regularly run nine months.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

"We are talking about people who did not simply draw lines, but organized them according to recurring principles -- parallelisms, grids, rotations and systematic repetitions: a visual grammar in embryo."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

By adding the two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, the Dodgers are poised to enter October in pursuit of a three-peat with one of the best pitching rotations in MLB history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

While short-term participation has wavered, those rotations have kept NDR’s longer-term breadth indicators from turning bearish, the strategists said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

The security bots continue their randomized rotations; some of the assets being used to guard this auction now drift off to patrol another one that has just started.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Related Words

• orbit