spin
Americanverb (used with object)
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spins,
present (3rd person singular)
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spun,
past participle, past
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span,
past participle, past (Archaic)
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spinning
present participle
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to make (yarn) by drawing out, twisting, and winding fibers.
Pioneer women spun yarn on spinning wheels.
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to form (the fibers of any material) into thread or yarn.
The machine spins nylon thread.
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(of spiders, silkworms, etc.) to produce (a thread, cobweb, gossamer, silk, etc.) by extruding from the body a long, slender filament of a natural viscous matter that hardens in the air.
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to cause to turn around rapidly, as on an axis; twirl; whirl.
to spin a coin on a table.
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Informal. to play (phonograph records).
a job spinning records on a radio show.
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Metalworking. to shape (sheet metal) into a hollow, rounded form by pressure from a tool while rotating the metal on a lathe or wheel.
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to produce, fabricate, or evolve in a manner suggestive of spinning thread.
to spin a tale of sailing ships and bygone days.
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Rocketry. to cause intentionally (a rocket or guided missile) to undergo a roll.
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to draw out, protract, or prolong (often followed byout ).
He spun the project out for over three years.
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British. to flunk a student in an examination or a term's work.
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Slang. to cause to have a particular bias; influence in a certain direction.
His assignment was to spin the reporters after the president's speech.
verb (used without object)
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spins,
present (3rd person singular)
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spun,
past participle, past
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span,
past participle, past (Archaic)
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spinning
present participle
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to revolve or rotate rapidly, as the earth or a top.
- Synonyms:
- gyrate
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to produce a thread from the body, as spiders or silkworms.
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to produce yarn or thread by spinning.
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to move, go, run, ride, or travel rapidly.
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to have a sensation of whirling; reel.
My head began to spin and I fainted.
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to fish with a spinning or revolving bait.
noun
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spins
plural
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the act of causing a spinning or whirling motion.
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a spinning motion given to a ball, wheel, axle, or other object.
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a downward movement or trend, especially one that is sudden, alarming, etc..
Steel prices went into a spin.
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a rapid run, ride, drive, or the like, as for exercise or enjoyment.
They went for a spin in the car.
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Slang. a particular viewpoint or bias, especially in the media; slant.
They tried to put a favorable spin on the news coverage of the controversial speech.
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Also called tail spin, tailspin. Aeronautics. a maneuver in which an airplane descends in a vertical direction along a helical path of large pitch and small radius at an angle of attack greater than the critical angle, dangerous when not done intentionally or under control.
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Rocketry.
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the act of intentionally causing a rocket or guided missile to undergo a roll.
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a roll so caused.
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Also called spin angular momentum. Physics. the intrinsic angular momentum characterizing each kind of elementary particle, having one of the values 0, 1/2, 1/3, … when measured in units of Planck's constant divided by 2π.
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Australian. a run of luck; fate.
verb phrase
idioms
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spin one's wheels. wheel.
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spin out, (of an automobile) to undergo a spinout.
verb
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to rotate or cause to rotate rapidly, as on an axis
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to draw out and twist (natural fibres, as of silk or cotton) into a long continuous thread
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to make such a thread or filament from (synthetic resins, etc), usually by forcing through a nozzle
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(of spiders, silkworms, etc) to form (webs, cocoons, etc) from a silky fibre exuded from the body
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(tr) to shape (metal) into a rounded form on a lathe
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informal (tr) to tell (a tale, story, etc) by drawing it out at great length (esp in the phrase spin a yarn )
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to bowl, pitch, hit, or kick (a ball) so that it rotates in the air and changes direction or speed on bouncing, or (of a ball) to be projected in this way
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(intr) (of wheels) to revolve rapidly without causing propulsion
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to cause (an aircraft) to dive in a spiral descent or (of an aircraft) to dive in a spiral descent
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to drive or travel swiftly
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Also: spin-dry. (tr) to rotate (clothes) in a washing machine in order to extract surplus water
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(intr) to reel or grow dizzy, as from turning around
my head is spinning
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(intr) to fish by drawing a revolving lure through the water
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informal (intr) to present news or information in a way that creates a favourable impression
noun
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a swift rotating motion; instance of spinning
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physics
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the intrinsic angular momentum of an elementary particle or atomic nucleus, as distinguished from any angular momentum resulting from its motion
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S, s. a quantum number determining values of this angular momentum in units of the Dirac constant, having integral or half-integral values
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a condition of loss of control of an aircraft or an intentional flight manoeuvre in which the aircraft performs a continuous spiral descent because the angle of maximum lift is less than the angle of incidence
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a spinning motion imparted to a ball, etc
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(in skating) any of various movements involving spinning rapidly on the spot
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informal a short or fast drive, ride, etc, esp in a car, for pleasure
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informal a state of agitation or confusion
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informal a period of time or an experience; chance or luck; fortune
a bad spin
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informal commerce a sudden downward trend in prices, values, etc
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informal the practice of presenting news or information in a way that creates a favourable impression
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informal one after another
they have lost two finals on the spin
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The intrinsic angular momentum of a rigid body or particle, especially a subatomic particle.
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Also called spin angular momentum
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The total angular momentum of a physical system, such as an electron orbital or an atomic nucleus.
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A quantum number expressing spin angular momentum; the actual angular momentum is a quantum number multiplied by Dirac's constant. Fermions have spin values that are integer multiples of 1/2, while bosons have spin values that are integer multiples of 1.
Synonym Usage
See turn.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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spinsimple
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spinssimple
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have spanperfect
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have spunperfect
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has spanperfect
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has spunperfect
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am spinningprogressive
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are spinningprogressive
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is spinningprogressive
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have been spinningperfect progressive
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has been spinningperfect progressive
Past
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spansimple
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spunsimple
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had spanperfect
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had spunperfect
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was spinningprogressive
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were spinningprogressive
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had been spinningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spin
First recorded before 900; Middle English spinnen “to spin yarn,” Old English spinnan; cognate with Dutch, German spinnen, Old Norse spinna, Gothic spinnan
Explanation
When you spin, you whirl around in a circle. Many kids love to spin on a merry-go-round. You can spin in a happy circle, and you can describe this movement as a spin. Another way to use the word spin is for a deliberate twisting of information, especially when it's done by politicians. A candidate might spin a news report to make herself look more appealing, for example, or spin bad news to make it appear good. This meaning of spin is relatively new, not being used much until the mid-1980's.
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:
Papadakis, who previously worked on the broadcast with Arbogast, called it “a bad look,” but explained that Arbogast was “usually defending USC or trying to spin something positive.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
At the beginning, riders are taken up a slope while facing backward and, at the peak, their seats spin forward as they hurtle toward the ground headfirst.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
The latter was in reference to a signature finishing move which saw him spin 360 degrees from the top rope of the wrestling ring and land on his opponent.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Now, in a new study published inNature Communications, Prof. Alex Greilich and his colleagues have found that multiple time crystals can emerge within the same material and synchronize their electron-nuclear spin oscillations.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
“I have heard of those who can spin more than just wool or cotton. I have never seen it. Show me.”
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
The seats are on the side of the track, allowing riders’ feet to dangle below or above them as their seat spins forward or backward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
The groups can be "echo chambers where everyone just spins each other out about their kids", he says, and suggests having a proper conversation with your child about boundaries, before university starts.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Various other videos and comments have been sharing creative spins on their search queries to avoid sponsored posts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Without that strain, as in the material's natural bulk form, the electron spins did not show signs of altermagnetism.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
Daniel spins the beanbag on the smooth floor.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
Today, Lynas runs a hard-rock mine in Australia, and processing operations that span Australia and Malaysia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The 72 systems span different stages of planetary development.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Ohtani could get a day off in that span, Friedman said, but the Dodgers will make those decisions based on how he’s feeling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Acts can span from bluegrass to blues, folk to funk, salsa to soul, and everything in between.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Closets are emptied and refilled in the span of a few hours.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Amodei became an adviser to GiveWell and, later, a scientific adviser to the philanthropy it spun off with the fortune of Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife, which was then called Open Philanthropy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
They seized the football, spun their wheels and corkscrewed even deeper into the NFL basement with a demoralizing 24-16 defeat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
We, the audience, are the final piece of the puzzle, the culpable players who not only ate up the original “To Catch a Predator,” but all the media and memes that spun off it.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma said in July the Bafta-winning studio behind the Hellblade games would be spun off, alongside four others, amid its dramatic downsizing.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Wolf spun round and raced back towards Tall Tailless.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
"I come from Japan many times to Shetland for wool week because I love the sheep and the local people. I love Shetland lace knitting and spinning," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
It’s a deceptively simple title for a role that will soon have her spinning from hoops and being thrown high into the air — not to mention singing, dancing and acting alongside the ensemble.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
This small sideways displacement is the optical equivalent of the Magnus effect that makes a spinning table tennis ball curve through the air.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
On Thursday afternoon, a new tropical storm, Norbert, was spinning hundreds of miles southwest of Baja California, heading west.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
They could do nothing against my spinning around.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
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.
