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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use rotation in a sentence

Wigner showed that, deep down, “spin is just a label that particles have because the world has rotations,” said Nima Arkani-Hamed, a particle physicist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
What Is a Particle?|Natalie Wolchover|November 12, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The risk-on rotation is in full swing as vaccine optimism continues to buoy global markets.
The great rotation into value stocks continues, lifting global markets|Bernhard Warner|November 11, 2020|Fortune
Then there’s the pitching staff, with familiar questions about filling out the rotation.
What’s missing from the Nationals’ roster? Here’s an early look.|Jesse Dougherty|November 6, 2020|Washington Post
The rotation at quarterback marks a significant departure for Mendenhall during his time at Virginia.
Virginia’s three-quarterback experiment will continue against No. 15 North Carolina|Gene Wang|October 29, 2020|Washington Post

This wasn’t like baseball, they said, where a new pitcher could be plugged into the starting rotation or a new hitter could be written into the lineup and simply do his thing.
Coronavirus protocols are impacting the NFL trade deadline — and making for earlier deals|Mark Maske|October 28, 2020|Washington Post
The ortho molecules rotate with odd rotational quantum numbers, while the para molecules rotate with even quantum numbers.
Unwise Child|Gordon Randall Garrett
The total, however, of the rotational moment of momentum of the system barely reaches two per cent.
Time and Tide|Robert S. (Robert Stawell) Ball
How can one who is ignorant of the existence and characteristics of rotational inertia understand a galvanometer?
College Teaching|Paul Klapper
By this time the student should have found himself sufficiently prepared to take up problems of rotational motion.
College Teaching|Paul Klapper
Searching problems and discussion are instigated at once, and the notion of rotational equilibrium and force moments brought in.
College Teaching|Paul Klapper

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

Medical definitions for rotation

rotation

[ rō-tā′shən ]

The act or process of turning around a center or an axis.

Regular and uniform variation in a sequence or series, as in the recurrence of symptoms of a disease.

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 related to rotation

How to use rotation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rotation

Derived forms of rotation

Medical definitions for rotation

Scientific definitions for rotation