swirl
Americanverb (used without object)
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swirls,
present (3rd person singular)
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swirled,
past participle, past
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swirling
present participle
verb (used with object)
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swirls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swirled,
past participle, past
-
swirling
present participle
noun
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swirls
plural
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a swirling movement; whirl; eddy.
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a twist, as of hair around the head or of trimming on a hat.
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any curving, twisting line, shape, or form.
-
confusion; disorder.
verb
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to turn or cause to turn in a twisting spinning fashion
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(intr) to be dizzy; swim
my head was swirling
noun
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a whirling or spinning motion, esp in water
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a whorl; curl
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the act of swirling or stirring
-
dizzy confusion
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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swirlsimple
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swirlssimple
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have swirledperfect
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has swirledperfect
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am swirlingprogressive
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are swirlingprogressive
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is swirlingprogressive
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have been swirlingperfect progressive
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has been swirlingperfect progressive
Past
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swirledsimple
-
had swirledperfect
-
was swirlingprogressive
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were swirlingprogressive
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had been swirlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of swirl
1375–1425; late Middle English (north) < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian svirla; cognate with Dutch zwirrelen to whirl, German (dial.) schwirrlen to totter; all < a root *swir- (whence Danish svirre to whirl, German schwirren to whir) + -l- frequentative suffix
Explanation
To swirl is to turn in circles or spirals, the way a leaf caught in a whirlpool swirls, or a toy duck swirls in the bathtub as you empty the water out. Smoke might swirl up from your campfire, keeping the mosquitos that swirl through the air nearby from biting you. Or you can swirl on a carnival ride that spins you in circles until you step back onto the ground and the world swirls for a while, until you regain your balance. Swirl is a noun, too, as in a swirl of dust. It was originally Scottish for "whirlpool."
Vocabulary lists containing swirl
"Joyas Voladoras" by Brian Doyle
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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"The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet"
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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:
Often, it helps to see a visual representation of your finances in black and white so you can deal with the hard facts, rather than the swirl of anxiety that accompanies them.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
A new “protein boost” recipe for Conagra’s Duncan Hines chewy fudge brownie mix involves adding a cup of blended cottage cheese and a swirl of peanut butter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
IM-3 is expected to become the first mission to explore the surface of a lunar swirl, allowing robotic systems and deployed instruments to investigate this still mysterious region in greater detail.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Dust devils are formed on warm, sunny days and are visible due to the dust or hay that they pick up and swirl around.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Anya returned Alsvindr to his little barn and brushed him down quietly as she let the idea of bringing Papa back swirl through her mind.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Pili has spent the week quietly slipping through corridors while the media storm swirls around Taylor.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Hockney’s largest canvas — at more than 7 feet tall and 20 feet wide — is filled with deft lines and Hockney’s signature swirls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
On the island's downwind side, the satellite captured von Kármán vortex streets, which look like repeating swirls spinning in opposite directions.
From Science Daily ● May 6, 2026
The debate swirls around something called the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, an old edict which gave leagues an antitrust exemption to pool their media rights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
As we continue to discuss Monster, my mind swirls.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
Earlier this week, as rumors swirled that OpenAI was preparing to drop an unprecedented barrage of proofs, mathematicians scrambled to publish their own AI-assisted work before they could be scooped.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
I joined six others on mats on the venue’s galactically swirled green-blue floors.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
But doubts have swirled over the possible role of Rabat, which claims sovereignty over Ceuta and Spain's other north African territory of Melilla.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
Last year, Dolly critiqued AI content when clearing rumors surrounding her health, which swirled online after sister Freida Parton asked the public for prayers in a Facebook post on Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Her questions swirled in her head: Was Jean-Michel a founder?
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
Material falling toward a black hole, for example, often forms a swirling disk around it before moving inward.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
“It’s…sipping, and swirling, and the noise, and the wet hand, and then also you think it drips,” Caitlin Wehniainen, a Miami-based recruiter for Fortune-500 companies, said in an interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
With only the swirling sounds of an overhead air conditioning vent to cloud her thoughts, she explained that, at the beginning, “Estrus” was bogged down by an unprecedented wave of writer’s block.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Possible candidate names are swirling but no individual will stick out his or her neck in public until they know they have the backing of the party.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
The floor was the same as ever, black marble, but around them were windows looking out on a swirling night sky, the lights of Manhattan beneath them.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
