whirl
Americanverb (used without object)
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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)
noun
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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
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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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whirlingadjective
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whirlernoun
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whirlinglyadverb
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outwhirlverb (used with object)
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unwhirledadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has whirledperfect 3rd person singular
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have whirledperfect
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have been whirlingperfect progressive
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has been whirlingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is whirlingprogressive 3rd person singular
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whirlingparticiple
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whirlssingular 3rd person
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am whirlingprogressive 1st person singular
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are whirlingprogressive
Past
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had whirledperfect
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were whirlingprogressive plural
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was whirlingprogressive singular
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whirledparticiple
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had been whirlingperfect progressive
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whirledsimple
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.
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
Keck Education Center, which will be overrun by excitable children who will get a big kick out of the fountain’s inviting whirl and swirl.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 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
"Almost immediately, the ceiling began to whirl and became a multiple of spinning blobs," Jerrie recalled.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
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.
