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
Etymology
Origin of rotatory
1745–55; < New Latin rotātōrius, equivalent to Latin rotā ( re ) ( see 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
Side.—This is a rotatory motion put on a ball, making it spin on a perpendicular axis.
From Hoyle's Games Modernized by Louis Hoffmann
In the last edition of 'Pritchard's Infusoria,' this case is spoken of as apparently not tubular, but a solid gelatinous mass, enveloping the animal as high up as the base of the rotatory arms.
From Marvels of Pond-life A Year's Microscopic Recreations by Henry J. Slack
In each of the foregoing cases the ball is made to take, after striking another ball, or a cushion, a direction different from that which it would take did no such rotatory motion exist.
From Hoyle's Games Modernized by Louis Hoffmann
The effect of the working of the reversible cycle, then, on the rotatory system, under the given conditions, is simply to produce alternately a retardation and a corresponding acceleration.
From The Energy System of Matter A Deduction from Terrestrial Energy Phenomena by James Weir
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.
