rotation

[ roh-tey-shuhn ]

/ roʊˈteɪ ʃən /

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See synonyms for: rotation / rotational on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

Astronomy.

the movement or path of the earth or a heavenly body turning on its axis.
one complete turn of such a body.

regularly recurring succession, as of officials.

Agriculture. crop rotation.

Mathematics.

an operation that rotates a geometric figure about a fixed point.
curl (def. 14).

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

Baseball. pitching rotation.

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Origin of rotation

1545–55; <Latin rotātiōn- (stem of rotātiō) a rotation, rolling, equivalent to rotāt(us) (see rotate¹) + -iōn--ion

OTHER WORDS FROM rotation

ro·ta·tion·al, adjectivenon·ro·ta·tion, nounnon·ro·ta·tion·al, adjectiveun·ro·ta·tion·al, adjective

Words nearby rotation

rotary tiller, rotary valve, rotary wing, rotate, rotating, rotation, rotational molding, rotational quantum number, rotation axis, rotation-inversion axis, rotation of axes

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rotation in a sentence

The design offers independent screen rotation and positioning, and each can tilt back up to 70 degrees or forward by 5 degrees.
The best monitor arms for desk-mounting your display|PopSci Commerce Team|August 26, 2020|Popular-Science
Huddles typically last a few hours, during which the penguins may cycle through multiple rotations from the huddle’s cold exterior to its warm interior.
Math of the Penguins|Susan D'Agostino|August 17, 2020|Quanta Magazine
They give the Nationals what projects to be one of the top rotations in the NL.
The Dodgers Lead Our National League Predictions, But Don’t Count Out The Nats Or … Reds?|Travis Sawchik|July 22, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
ROMY could also detect a change in Earth’s spin rate so small that it would add up to only a four-second difference in the length of a day, over a single rotation.
A giant underground motion sensor in Germany tracks Earth’s wobbles|Maria Temming|July 17, 2020|Science News

That offseason, the Dodgers signed Zack Greinke to join Kershaw, pairing Cy Young winners at the top of the rotation.
The Dodgers’ Legacy May Depend On This Short Season|Robert O'Connell|July 13, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Following one week of “R&R,” the team will spend one more six-week rotation in the ETU before entering a three-week isolation.
$10,000 a Month for Ebola Fighters|Abby Haglage|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"Palmer always keeps his word," beamed Weaver, putting the right hander back in the rotation.
Will the Real Jim Palmer Please Stand Up|Tom Boswell|September 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Others who will join the rotation include Alan Alda, Candice Bergen, Stacy Keach, and Carol Burnett.
Fall Broadway Preview: 'This Is Our Youth,' Bradley Cooper as ‘The Elephant Man,' and More|Janice Kaplan|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I heard no recent jazz releases, or any of the tracks currently in heavy rotation on the few remaining jazz radio stations.
Jazz (The Music of Coffee and Donuts) Has Respect, But It Needs Love|Ted Gioia|June 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, that relates to the other rotation of the spin herethat she was difficult and demanding.
The Hypocrisy Behind The New York Times’s Abrupt Decapitation of Jill Abramson|Robert Shrum|May 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The special application of these facts must be reserved till we come to treat of the rotation of crops.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
The remarkable difference in the proportion of these elements has been supposed to afford an explanation of rotation.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
Such an atom would by the rotation of the sphere accomplish no motion except, indeed, that it might turn round on its own centre.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
This evidence does not require us to abandon the supposition that the tides tend to diminish the earth's rate of rotation.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
In mammals the head rotates more easily, but valuable time is lost in the rotation of the whole body.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris

British Dictionary definitions for rotation

rotation

/ (rəʊˈteɪʃən) /

noun

the act of rotating; rotary motion

a regular cycle of events in a set order or sequence

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

maths

a circular motion of a configuration about a given point or line, without a change in shape
a transformation in which the coordinate axes are rotated by a fixed angle about the origin
another name for curl (def. 11) Abbreviation (for sense 4c): rot

the spinning motion of a body, such as a planet, about an internal axisCompare revolution (def. 5a)
one complete turn in such motion

Derived forms of rotation

rotational, adjective

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

Scientific definitions for rotation

rotation

[ rō-tā′shən ]

The motion of an object around an internal axis.

A single complete cycle of such motion. See Note at revolution.

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.

rotation

Origin of rotation

OTHER WORDS FROM rotation

Words nearby rotation

Words related to rotation

How to use rotation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rotation

Derived forms of rotation

Scientific definitions for rotation