rotate
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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rotates,
present (3rd person singular)
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rotated,
past participle, past
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rotating
present participle
-
to cause to turn around an axis or center point; revolve.
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to cause to go through a cycle of changes; cause to pass or follow in a fixed routine of succession.
to rotate farm crops.
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to replace (a person, troops, etc.) by another or others, usually according to a schedule or plan.
verb (used without object)
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rotates,
present (3rd person singular)
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rotated,
past participle, past
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rotating
present participle
-
to turn around on or as if on an axis.
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to proceed in a fixed routine of succession.
The sentries rotated in keeping watch.
adjective
verb
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to turn or cause to turn around an axis, line, or point; revolve or spin
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to follow or cause to follow a set order or sequence
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(of a position, presidency, etc) to pass in turn from one eligible party to each of the other eligible parties
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(of staff) to replace or be replaced in turn
adjective
Synonym Usage
See turn.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonrotatableadjective
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nonrotatingadjective
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rotatableadjective
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unrotatedadjective
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unrotatingadjective
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rotatablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rotatesimple
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rotatessimple
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have rotatedperfect
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has rotatedperfect
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am rotatingprogressive
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are rotatingprogressive
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is rotatingprogressive
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have been rotatingperfect progressive
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has been rotatingperfect progressive
Past
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rotatedsimple
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had rotatedperfect
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was rotatingprogressive
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were rotatingprogressive
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had been rotatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rotate1
First recorded in 1800–10; from Latin rotātus (past participle of rotāre “to cause to spin, roll, move in a circle”), equivalent to rot(a) “wheel” + -ātus -ate 1
Origin of rotate2
1775–85; < Latin rot ( a ) wheel + -ate 1
Explanation
Rotate means to circle around a center point. Wheels on a car rotate, planets rotate, and if you're an ice skater, you rotate on the blade of a skate when you do your spins. Rotate can also mean that you take turns performing a job. If you, Jim, and Shelia all got the same amount of votes in the class election, you could rotate the role of treasurer, meaning the position would pass from one to another in a regular pattern. Rotate can also refer to other things that are passed along in a regular order. You might rotate lawn duties with your brother — that means you mow the lawn one week and he mows it the next.
Vocabulary lists containing rotate
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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Earth and the Solar System - Introductory
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Fish in a Tree
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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.
See Examples For:
When discussing Microsoft in a follow-up email, Reyna wrote that “even an established AI leader can rotate out as the methodology responds to changing fundamentals, valuation, momentum, and other factors.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
The networks rotate coverage of White House presidential events.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
The heavier masses gravitationally attracted the smaller lead balls, causing the suspended beam to rotate.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Recognising that Sandro Tonali is better in big space facing forwards, we have seen him rotate positions with Archie Gray, who starts at right-back - a sensible tweak.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
I took off my glasses and Jake showed me how to rotate the focus knob.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
The naming of tropical storms and hurricanes is a job for the World Meteorological Organization, which rotates them out every six years and retires them after a given storm causes too much destruction.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
The orbiter circles the Moon from pole to pole once every two hours as the Moon slowly rotates beneath it.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
The LRO, in service since 2009, circles the Moon from pole to pole every two hours while the Moon rotates underneath it.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
It’s about the fact that the Lotus’s polar axis runs exactly through the driver’s inboard hip, so that the machine rotates around them and not some invisible pivot point, just off-center.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Our reality rotates ninety degrees, and we fall toward the window.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
A hurricane is an engine that pulls in heat and is rotated by wind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The ceremony has rotated among the four broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
It also briefly emerged last fall, as investors rotated away from tech and into stocks that had been lagging behind.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
Tongue took one wicket in two matches and was expensive at Lord's, conceding 43 runs from five overs, while Mahmood took 2-52 in Cardiff but was rotated out for Tongue for the series finale.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
I rotated my rope belt so that the tassels faced forward.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
LaManna improvised a stand to hold the fragile scroll while rotating it through an X-ray beam.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
Disney's coverage also featured a vegetable platter being served and a rotating floor.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Campbell said they’ve been rotating out of U.S. utilities and into regional European players.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
The Pentagon also is rotating Air Force fighter squadrons in the region with Air National Guard F-16s replacing warplanes that are returning to the U.S. base at Aviano, Italy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Photos from the apartment setups and different families are rotating on the screen, and Rabiya points to one with a mother, father, and three kids when it comes up again.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
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.
