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Synonyms

twirl

American  
[twurl] / twɜrl /

verb (used with object)

  1. to cause to rotate rapidly; spin; revolve; whirl.

  2. to twiddle.

    to twirl my thumbs.

  3. to wind idly, as about something.


verb (used without object)

  1. to rotate rapidly; whirl.

  2. to turn quickly so as to face or point in another direction.

noun

  1. an act or instance of twirling; spin; whirl.

  2. something convoluted or having a spiral shape; coil; curl; convolution.

twirl British  
/ twɜːl /

verb

  1. to move or cause to move around rapidly and repeatedly in a circle

  2. (tr) to twist, wind, or twiddle, often idly

    she twirled her hair around her finger

  3. (intr; often foll by around or about) to turn suddenly to face another way

    she twirled around angrily to face him

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. an act of rotating or being rotated; whirl or twist

  2. something wound around or twirled; coil

  3. a written flourish or squiggle

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of twirl

First recorded in 1590–1600; tw(ist) + (wh)irl

Vocabulary lists containing twirl

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.

Then there are the moves: the Flamingo Twirl, the Porpoise Spin, the Swan, the Albatross, the Butterfly, the Heron and the Manta Ray.

From Washington Post • Aug. 7, 2021

Betterthanbetter, Devotion, Kissed, Twirl and Was are the other contenders for O'Brien, as he seeks his fourth win in the fillies' Classic.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2012

O'Brien has four other runners in the race but Betterbetterbetter and Devotion do not seem good enough, while Twirl and Was were a bit disappointing in their recent trial races.

From The Guardian • May 31, 2012

She said the loss of the Pavilion and the Sip n’ Twirl was doubly inconceivable.

From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2011

Twirl him! twirl him! blind and dumb Deaf and dumb, Twirl the carle so troublesome!

From The Poems of Schiller — Suppressed poems by Schiller, Friedrich