swirl1 verbswirl2 noun
swirlswirl1 /swɜːl $ swɜːrl/ ●○○ verb 
Verb TableVERB TABLE
swirl
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | swirl |
| he, she, it | swirls | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | swirled |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have swirled |
| he, she, it | has swirled | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had swirled |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will swirl |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have swirled |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am swirling |
| he, she, it | is swirling | |
| you, we, they | are swirling | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was swirling |
| you, we, they | were swirling | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been swirling |
| he, she, it | has been swirling | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been swirling |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be swirling |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been swirling |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Swirl butter into the sauce.
- Dust swirled like smoke in the evening sunshine.
- Jessie's pale dress swirled round her slender ankles.
- Reports that the company is in trouble continue to swirl.
- The ice cubes swirled down the drain.
- The wind swirling around the tree had blown all the snow away from its trunk.
- Add a dot of cream to each, then swirl with a knife to create a pattern.
- As the submersible glides over them, clouds of orange dust rise, swirl about, and slowly drift back down.
- George said something perfectly right about the wine, swirling it in the high-stemmed tulip glass.
- Robert was duly acquitted, but the mystery swirled on.
- She toyed with it with her fork, pushing it slowly around the plate, swirling it into patterns.
- Smoke swirled out of the grass next to the first few Hueys.
- The three ships swirled around my ship, neatly bracketing it as they matched its speed.
- The traffic swirled by on the splashing road.
Longman Language Activatorto go around in circles► turn
Collocations if something turns , it moves around a fixed central point: · Slowly the wheels of the train began to turn.· I heard the door knob turning, and then Frank opened the door and tiptoed in.· As the propeller stopped turning, Grady ran up to the plane.
► go around also go round British to move in a continuous circular movement: · When the fan goes around it forces the warm air back down.· The gear was going round, but it didn't seem to be catching on anything.
► spin to turn around many times very quickly: · The ice skater began to spin faster and faster.· The wheels were spinning in the mud, but the car wouldn't move.spin aroundalso + round British: · The boy was spinning around in his father's desk chair.
► rotate/revolve to turn around and around a fixed point: · The Earth rotates on its axis once every twenty-four hours.· A disco ball revolved slowly over the empty dance floor.· The stage rotates giving the audience a constantly changing view.
► go/run/drive etc around in circles also go/run/drive etc round in circles especially British to go, run, drive etc continuously or repeatedly around in a circular way: · The children went round in circles till the music stopped.· We were driving around in circles, weaving through the parking lot.
► go/run/drive etc around and around also go/run/drive etc round and round British to go around in circles many times: · Billy will sit and watch his train going round and round on its little track for hours.· The steers walked restlessly around and around their pen.
► whirl to spin around extremely quickly, often in an uncontrolled way: · The blades of the helicopter whirled powerfully overhead.whirl aroundalso + round British: · Flies whirled round the piles of sticky sweets.· Dust and sand were whirling around in the air, as the desert wind began to get stronger.
► spiral to move slowly upwards or downwards in a circular way around a central point, while also moving either in towards the centre or out from it: · Smoke spiralled upward from the chimney.· We watched the leaves spiral down from the trees in the cold autumn wind.
► swirl if water, dust, mist etc swirls , it keeps turning around quickly in a twisting, circular movement: · Dust swirled like smoke in the evening sunshine.swirl aroundalso round British: · Jessie's pale dress swirled round her slender ankles.· The wind swirling around the tree had blown all the snow away from its trunk.
► circle if a bird or aircraft circles , it flies around above a particular place, waiting for something: · We all looked towards the sky where the vultures were circling.· The plane circled the runway several times before landing.circle overhead/above etc: · Helicopters circled overhead, trying to get pictures of the crime scene.
► twirl if someone twirls, they spin around very quickly, especially as part of a dance: · Rachel took her father's hand and twirled in and out under his arm.twirl around/about: · Half a dozen couples were twirling about to a waltz.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► swirling fog
1[intransitive, transitive] to move around quickly in a twisting circular movement, or to make something do thisswirl around/round (=which blows around)· She could not see through the swirling fog.
► mist swirls (=moves in circles)· The boat disappeared into the swirling mist.
► swirling snow (=blowing around as it falls)· It was difficult to see in the swirling snow.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► around· Sensual pleasure had been swirling around her.· Snowflakes swirl around in front of my window, and slowly, imperceptibly, they mat down the leaves and the grass.· Oil gushed out and swirled around his feet.· Simon swirled around in his seat.· The starlings were disturbed, swirling around in S-shapes and parabolas and unexpected clusters.· They kept quite still, although all the commotion of the station swirled around them.· The three ships swirled around my ship, neatly bracketing it as they matched its speed.
► round· Greeny-brown water swirled round and through gaps in the wood, which was broken and jagged like rotten teeth.· Splintered wood and shoes swirling round and round.· Both sides fought with abandon, crimson water swirling round their knees.· The noises swirl round me, but it don't bother me.· I, m just water swirling round them and they're too busy to feel me.
NOUN► water· Greeny-brown water swirled round and through gaps in the wood, which was broken and jagged like rotten teeth.· Both sides fought with abandon, crimson water swirling round their knees.· Between her feet, water swirled down the plughole, taking red and black threads of blood and dirt with it.· The water swirled cold round her feet, and she had lost sight of Adam.· Silvery water swirled beneath and we spied grey wag tails on wet boulders in mid-stream.· I, m just water swirling round them and they're too busy to feel me.
► wind· Just gray skies, continuing strong winds, and swirling deep snow.
Smoke swirled around her.swirl something around/round He swirled the brandy around in his glass. The river had become a swirling torrent.2[intransitive] if stories or ideas swirl around a place, a lot of people start to talk about them – used especially in news reports SYN circulateswirl around Rumours of a takeover began to swirl around the stock markets.swirl1 verbswirl2 noun
swirlswirl2 noun [countable] Word OriginWORD ORIGINswirl2
ExamplesOrigin:
1400-1500 Probably from the sound of water going aroundEXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
word sets- Leaving behind the familiar phrasings, Coltrane began to produce swirls of sound and visceral shrieks that puzzled and angered music critics.
- Pipe the chocolate into swirls over the chocolate-coated truffles.
- The sky hung low, a cloudy canvas with swirls of dark purple and stormy greys.
- The wind had strengthened, and there was more rain too, blowing in swirls.
- They're inconsequential swirls, all wah wah pedal and no tune.
- To follow Bavarian creams and chocolate chestnut swirl.
WORD SETS► Design
Collocationscross-hatching, nouncutaway, adjectivedesigner, noundrawing board, nounemblem, nounengrave, verbengraving, nounetch, verbetching, nounflowery, adjectivefluted, adjectiveherringbone, nounincise, verbinlaid, adjectivepaisley, nounpatterned, adjectiveplot, nounreticulated, adjectiveschema, nounscroll, nounsection, nounstyle, verbswirl, nountracing, nountracing paper, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► swirling fog
1a swirling movement or amount of somethingswirl of (=which blows around)· She could not see through the swirling fog.
► mist swirls (=moves in circles)· The boat disappeared into the swirling mist.
► swirling snow (=blowing around as it falls)· It was difficult to see in the swirling snow.
a swirl of dust2a twisting circular pattern