rotatory
Americanadjective
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pertaining to or of the nature of rotation.
rotatory motion.
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rotating, as an object.
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passing or following in rotation or succession.
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causing rotation, as a muscle.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- rotatively adverb
- unrotatory adjective
Etymology
Origin of rotatory
1745–55; < New Latin rotātōrius, equivalent to Latin rotā ( re ) ( rotate 1 ) + -tōrius -tory 1
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.
So, when it comes to rotating players, is it really any wonder that managers are increasingly choosing to use domestic cup competitions as rotatory playgrounds?
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
He had discontinued all manual connection with his blue glasses; he had even pressed both hands together, in a rotatory, nervous way, while he went on speaking.
From The Adventures of a Widow A Novel by Fawcett, Edgar
From the large size of each cilium they are very favorable creatures for exhibiting the real nature of the action, which gives rise to the rotatory appearance, and which can be easier studied than described.
From Marvels of Pond-life A Year's Microscopic Recreations by Slack, Henry J.
Campbell and Moore have found spectroscopic evidence of internal rotatory motion in a large proportion of the planetary nebul�.
From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck
Owing to the rotatory motion of the globe and also to the curve of the coasts, the Stream follows a constant direction to the north-east.
From The Strand Magazine, Volume XXVII, Issue 160, April, 1904 by Various
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.
