whirligig
something that whirls or revolves.
a whirling motion or course: the whirligig of fashion.
a giddy or flighty person.
Dialect. a merry-go-round or carrousel.
a toy for whirling or spinning, as a top.
Origin of whirligig
1Words Nearby whirligig
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use whirligig in a sentence
On another day, we watched older children recruit the help of younger children to lug a few logs and timbers from the edge of camp to construct a whirligig or roundabout.
What Industrial Societies Get Wrong About Childhood - Issue 108: Change | Karen L. Kramer | December 1, 2021 | NautilusOne flier fell at about 28 centimeters per second, less than half the speed of natural whirligigs from various plants.
Whirling maple seeds inspired these tiny flying sensors | Emily Conover | September 22, 2021 | Science NewsTime's whirligig has made him the hero of our puppet-shows, and he enjoys cosmopolitan celebrity under the name of Punch.
The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the first | Count Carlo GozziThere were books all round the room, and one of those whirligig square book-cases.
A Mortal Antipathy | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.It is so dark I can't tell which way she is swinging till she is coming around like a whirligig.'
Life On The Mississippi, Complete | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
This little bubble is held there by tiny hairs, and because whirligig has it, it can breathe while it stays under the water.
Little Busybodies | Jeanette Augustus Marks and Julia Moody"Aunty Maggy's whirligig" could be enjoyed on payment of an old pair of boots, a collection of rags, or the like.
Auld Licht Idyls | J. M. Barrie
British Dictionary definitions for whirligig
/ (ˈwɜːlɪˌɡɪɡ) /
any spinning toy, such as a top
another name for merry-go-round
anything that whirls about, spins, or moves in a circular or giddy way: the whirligig of social life
another name for windmill (def. 3)
Origin of whirligig
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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