rotation

American  

[roh-tey-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

Appeared in the July 3, 2026, print edition as 'Weaker Hiring Brings Back Rotation Trade'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026

Equity Factor Rotation Active ETF has failed to perform the two-step that investors might have hoped for.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

Relative Rotation Graphs, or RRG charts, are a way of depicting the changes in leadership in different groups, such as sectors, countries or regions, or market factors.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 24, 2025

The research, titled "Testing CCC+TL Cosmology with Galaxy Rotation Curves," appears in the peer-reviewed journal Galaxies.

From Science Daily • Nov. 6, 2025

The title of this paper was Astronomical Observations on the Rotation of the Planets round their Axes, made with a view to determine whether the Earth's diurnal motion is perfectly equable.

From Sir William Herschel: His Life and Works by Holden, Edward Singleton

Related Words

• orbit