whirl
Americanverb (used without object)
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whirls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
whirled,
past participle, past
-
whirling
present participle
-
to turn around, spin, or rotate rapidly.
The merry-go-round whirled noisily.
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to turn about or aside quickly.
He whirled and faced his pursuers.
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to move, travel, or be carried rapidly along.
She whirled along the freeway in her new car.
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to feel as though spinning rapidly; reel as from dizziness.
My head began to whirl.
verb (used with object)
-
whirls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
whirled,
past participle, past
-
whirling
present participle
noun
-
whirls
plural
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the act of whirling; rapid rotation or gyration.
- Synonyms:
- revolution, spin
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a whirling movement; quick turn or swing.
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a short drive, run, walk, or the like; spin.
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something that whirls; a whirling current or mass.
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a rapid round of events, affairs, etc..
a whirl of meetings, conferences, and business lunches.
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a state marked by dizziness or a dizzying succession of feelings, thoughts, etc.
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an attempt or trial, especially one undertaken tentatively or experimentally.
Even if you don't agree with my plan, won't you give it a whirl?
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Machinery. whip.
verb
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to spin, turn, or revolve or cause to spin, turn, or revolve
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(intr) to turn around or away rapidly
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(intr) to have a spinning sensation, as from dizziness, etc
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to move or drive or be moved or driven at high speed
noun
-
the act or an instance of whirling; swift rotation or a rapid whirling movement
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a condition of confusion or giddiness
her accident left me in a whirl
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a swift round, as of events, meetings, etc
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a tumult; stir
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informal a brief trip, dance, etc
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informal to attempt or give a trial to something
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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whirlernoun
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outwhirlverb (used with object)
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unwhirledadjective
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whirlingadjective
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whirlinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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whirlsimple
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whirlssimple
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have whirledperfect
-
has whirledperfect
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am whirlingprogressive
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are whirlingprogressive
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is whirlingprogressive
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have been whirlingperfect progressive
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has been whirlingperfect progressive
Past
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whirledsimple
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had whirledperfect
-
was whirlingprogressive
-
were whirlingprogressive
-
had been whirlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whirl
1250–1300; Middle English whirlen < Old Norse hvirfla to whirl, akin to Old English hwyrflung turning, revolving, hwyrfel circuit; see whorl
Explanation
A whirl is a quick spin, and when something whirls, it rotates fast. You can also use it to mean "a try." Hang-gliding? Snake-charming? "Sure," you say. "I'll give it a whirl." Both whirl and spin are words that mean "turn in circles" but that have also come to mean trying something briefly––you might take a car for a spin or take a turn hiking in the Himalayas. All imply an attitude so free-wheeling, so easy, so devil-may-care that it might make your head spin. Or whirl.
Vocabulary lists containing whirl
English Words Derived from Old Norse
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"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (1950)
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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:
But succumbing to the siren song of salt, I left my packed lunch at home to give it a whirl and find out what regularly eating too much salt is doing to our health.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
An elite dinghy racer in his youth, he gave the Cup a whirl in 1974 on Mariner, a vessel he claimed would be an innovative breakthrough.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
They whirl, bounce, and collide within their confined space like loose change shaking violently in a machine, moving so quickly and unpredictably that standard scientific tools have struggled to track them.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 19, 2026
During a whirl of recent diplomatic engagements, Takaichi played K-pop on the drums with South Korea's president and snapped selfies with Italy's prime minister, casting herself as hard-working, relatable and a symbol of change.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026
The overalls were filthy and as Jake recognized them they aroused in him a whirl of sudden memories from the past week.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Despite their impressive performance, fire whirls are not easy to control.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2026
One of the most promising advantages of fire whirls is speed.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2026
"Our results show that fire whirls, compared to in-situ fires, dramatically reduce overall emissions."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2026
He stamps his feet, whirls his arms and screams at whichever referee is unlucky enough to be within earshot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Little whirls of frozen dust eddied about Francie’s feet.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
"When I left, I left with nothing," he told AFP, as waiters whirled past carrying steaming plates of traditional Syrian fare.
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
In 1957 they created the so-called Solar Do-Nothing Machine, which harnessed solar energy to power an aluminum toy that joyously whirled and spun.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2025
Faint noises from boat engines whirled in the air.
From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2024
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Lee whirled through open waters on Thursday as forecasters warned it could become the first Category 5 storm of the Atlantic season.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 7, 2023
Dust whirled around and around, rising higher with each spin.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
"We opened two containers every day in the yard," he said, sitting in his office beside a whirling fan.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
Distressing images thunder into her head uninvited, whirling around and around until she feels like she is drowning in them.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Most ingenious of all are the soap bubbles, devised by Mr. Forman, an MIT doctoral student, that drift around the stage as whirling snow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
The arrival of “The Beast in Me” couldn’t be better timed, with the drama surrounding the release of the Epstein files whirling.
From Salon ● Nov. 19, 2025
Everything is whirling around in a big bunch of motion and energy crashing into each other at the size of atoms and icebergs, and will crumble eventually.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
