Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense spins, present participle spinning, past tense, past participle spun
1. verb
If something spins or if you spin it, it turns quickly around a central point.
The latest discs, used for small portable computers, spin 3600 times a minute. [VERB]
The Earth spins on its own axis. [VERB]
He spun the wheel sharply and made a U turn in the middle of the road. [VERB noun]
He spun his car round and went after them. [V n round/around]
Synonyms: revolve, turn, rotate, wheel More Synonyms of spin
Spin is also a noun.
This driving mode allows you to move off in third gear to reduce wheel-spin in icyconditions.
2. verb
When you spin washing, it is turned round and round quickly in a spin drier or a washing machine to get the water out.
Just spin the washing and it's nearly dry. [VERB noun]
Spin is also a noun.
Set on a cool wash and finish with a short spin.
3. verb
If your head is spinning, you feel unsteady or confused, for example because you are drunk, ill, or excited.
His head was spinning and he could barely stand. [VERB]
All those figures make my poor head spin. [VERB]
4. singular noun
If someone puts a certain spin on an event or situation, they interpret it and try to present it in a particular way.
[informal]
He interpreted the vote as support and that is the spin his supporters are puttingon the results today.
...the wholly improper political spin given to the report by sections of the press.
Synonyms: bias, prejudice, slant, turn More Synonyms of spin
5. See also spin doctor
6. uncountable noun
In politics, spin is the way in which political parties try to present everything they do in a positive way to the public and the media.
The public is sick of spin and tired of promises. It's time for politicians to act.
7. singular noun
If you go for a spin or take a car for a spin, you make a short journey in a car just to enjoy yourself.
8. verb
If someone spins a story, they give you an account of something that is untrue or only partly true.
She had spun a story which was too good to be condemned as a simple lie. [VERB noun]
[Also VERB noun noun]
Synonyms: tell, relate, recount, develop More Synonyms of spin
9. verb
When people spin, they make thread by twisting together pieces of a fibre such as wool or cotton using a device or machine.
Michelle will also spin a customer's wool fleece to specification at a cost of $2.25an ounce. [VERB noun]
[Also VERB]
spinninguncountable noun
They do their own cooking, spinning, and woodworking.
10. singular noun [aNOUN]
If a plane goes into a spin, it falls very rapidly towards the ground in a spiral movement.
11. uncountable noun
In a game such as tennis or cricket, if you put spin on a ball, you deliberately make it spin rapidly when you hit it or throw it.
12.
See in a spin
Phrasal verbs:
See spin off
See spin out
More Synonyms of spin
spin in British English
(spɪn)
verbWord forms: spins, spinning or spun
1.
to rotate or cause to rotate rapidly, as on an axis
2.
a.
to draw out and twist (natural fibres, as of silk or cotton) into a long continuous thread
b.
to make such a thread or filament from (synthetic resins, etc), usually by forcing through a nozzle
3.
(of spiders, silkworms, etc) to form (webs, cocoons, etc) from a silky fibre exuded from the body
4. (transitive)
to shape (metal) into a rounded form on a lathe
5. (transitive) informal
to tell (a tale, story, etc) by drawing it out at great length (esp in the phrase spin a yarn)
6.
to bowl, pitch, hit, or kick (a ball) so that it rotates in the air and changes direction or speed on bouncing, or (of a ball) to be projected in this way
7. (intransitive)
(of wheels) to revolve rapidly without causing propulsion
8.
to cause (an aircraft) to dive in a spiral descent or (of an aircraft) to dive in a spiral descent
9. (intransitive; foll byalong)
to drive or travel swiftly
10. Also: spin-dry(transitive)
to rotate (clothes) in a spin-dryer in order to extract surplus water
11. (intransitive)
to reel or grow dizzy, as from turning around
my head is spinning
12. (intransitive)
to fish by drawing a revolving lure through the water
13. (transitive) informal
to present (news or information) in a way that creates a favourable impression
noun
14.
a swift rotating motion; instance of spinning
15. physics
a.
the intrinsic angular momentum of an elementary particle or atomic nucleus, as distinguished from any angular momentum resulting from its motion
b.
a quantum number determining values of this angular momentum in units of the Dirac constant, having integral or half-integral values
Symbol: S, s
16.
a condition of loss of control of an aircraft or an intentional flight manoeuvre in which the aircraft performs a continuous spiral descent because the angle of maximum lift is less than the angle of incidence
17.
a spinning motion imparted to a ball, etc
18.
(in skating) any of various movements involving spinning rapidly on the spot
19. informal
a short or fast drive, ride, etc, esp in a car, for pleasure
20. flat spin
21. Australian and New Zealand informal
a period of time or an experience; chance or luck; fortune
a bad spin
22. business informal
a sudden downward trend in prices, values, etc
23. informal
the practice of presenting news or information in a way that creates a favourableimpression
24. another name for Spinning
25. on the spin
Word origin
Old English spinnan; related to Old Norse spinna, Old High German spinnan to spin, Lithuanian pinu to braid
spin in American English
(spɪn)
verb transitiveWord forms: spun or ˈspinning
1.
a.
to draw out and twist fibers of (wool, cotton, etc.) into thread
b.
to make (thread, yarn, etc.) by this process
2.
to make (a web, cocoon, etc.) from a filament of a viscous fluid that is extruded from the body and hardens on exposure to the air
said of spiders, silkworms, etc.
3.
to make or produce in a way suggestive of spinning
to spin a tale
4.
to draw out (a story, etc.) to a great length; prolong; protract
5.
to cause to whirl or rotate swiftly
to spin a top
6.
to cause (wheels of a vehicle) to rotate freely without traction, as on ice or in sand
7.
to extract water from (clothes) in a washer by the centrifugal force of swift rotation
8. US
to apply a slant or particular emphasis to (information), as to persuade or deceive
verb intransitive
9.
to spin thread or yarn
10.
to form a thread, web, etc.
said of spiders, etc.
11.
to fish with a spinning reel
12.
to whirl or rotate swiftly
13.
to go into or descend in a spin
said of an aircraft
14.
to seem to be spinning from dizziness
15.
to move along swiftly and smoothly
16.
to rotate freely without traction
wheels spinning on ice
noun
17.
the act of spinning or rotating something
18.
a spinning or rotating movement
19.
a moving along swiftly and smoothly
20.
a ride or pleasure trip in a motor vehicle
21.
any descent in which an airplane comes down nose first along a spiral path of large pitch and small radius
22.
any sudden, steep downward movement
23. US
a particular emphasis or slant imparted to information in order to create a desiredeffect, such as a favorable public image for a politician
24. Physics
a.
the intrinsic angular momentum of an elementary particle or photon, produced by rotation about its own axis
b.
the total angular momentum of a nuclide
Idioms:
spin off
spin out
Word origin
ME spinnen < OE spinnan, akin to Ger spinnen < IE base *(s)pen(d)-, to pull, draw, spin > Lith spéndžiu, to lay a snare & (prob.) L pendere, to hang; (sense 23) from the fact that the spin imparted to a ball in certain gamesaffects its direction, bounce, etc.
More idioms containing
spin
in a spin
spin your wheels
Examples of 'spin' in a sentence
spin
The car suddenly spun out of control.
The Sun (2011)
To call him a monster was just spin by his successors.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The modern epidemic of stress has been given an evolutionary spin.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The vehicle had gone into a spin and toppled over a bridge barrier.
The Sun (2011)
They would include the politics of spin.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
They have spun a story that is completely false.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
We make gestures and spin around in time to see ourselves making them.
The Times Literary Supplement (2012)
Twitter can be used to publish factual information provided there is no political spin.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The leading spin bowler will also feature automatically in one of them.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The world has spun off its axis.
The Sun (2008)
We were waiting for her head to spin round!
The Sun (2006)
Both vehicles were sent spinning before hitting oncoming traffic and knocking a motorcyclist from his machine.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The room spun around our heads as we talked and fought.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Wasps have lost three games on the spin.
The Sun (2006)
You have to put spin on defeats.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
There is always a gamble about wrist spin.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
We went back to his flat and watched the film three times on the spin.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Both cars spin onto the grass.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It constructs and spends its entire growing life in a tangled scaffolding of threads spun across the surface of the rock wall.
Chapman, Philip Caves and Cave Life (1993)
That way they can spin it out until July at least.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
I have found it difficult at times to deceive him because he reads the length and the spin so quickly!
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
From cotton spinning to pattern cutting, the skills are there to make in Britain.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
To work it off: 35 minutes of a spinning class.
The Sun (2012)
I have been spoiled watching wonderful players and I enjoyed spin bowling.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Word lists with
spin
terms used in aviation
In other languages
spin
British English: spin VERB
If something spins or if you spin it, it turns quickly around a central point.
The disc, used for small portable computers, spins 3600 times a minute.
American English: spin
Brazilian Portuguese: girar
Chinese: 转动
European Spanish: girar
French: tourner
German: sich drehen
Italian: girare
Japanese: 回す/回る
Korean: 회전하다
European Portuguese: girar
Latin American Spanish: girar
All related terms of 'spin'
spin up
to create (a virtual machine ) using a cloud-computing service
flat spin
an aircraft spin in which the longitudinal axis is more nearly horizontal than vertical
spin-dry
to dry (clothes, linen , etc) in a spin-dryer
spin off
To spin off or spin off something such as a company means to create a new company that is separate from the original organization .
spin out
If you spin something out , you make it last longer than it normally would.
in a spin in a flat spin
If you say that someone is in a spin or in a flat spin , you mean that they are confused and unable to act sensibly because of something that has happened .
rough spin
hard or unfair treatment
spin bowler
a bowler who specializes in bowling balls with a spinning motion
spin doctor
In politics , a spin doctor is someone who is skilled in public relations and who advises political parties on how to present their policies and actions.
spin-dried
to dry (clothes, linen , etc) in a spin-dryer
spin-dries
to dry (clothes, linen , etc) in a spin-dryer
spin-dryer
a device that extracts water from clothes, linen , etc, by spinning them in a perforated drum
spin-drying
a technique for extracting water from clothes, linen , etc, by spinning them in a perforated drum
isobaric spin
an internal quantum number used in the classification of elementary particles . Particles which have very similar properties except for those associated with their charge are regarded as forms of the same fundamental particle with different components of the isospin in a certain direction in an imaginary space
isotopic spin
→ isospin
spin casting
→ spinning (sense 2 )
spin fishing
→ spinning (sense 2 )
spin machine
an organization or group of people acting together to present news or information in a way that creates a particular desired impression
aeroplane spin
a wrestling attack in which a wrestler lifts an opponent onto his or her shoulders and spins around, leaving the opponent dizzy
on the spin
one after another
spin a yarn
If you say that someone spins a yarn , you mean that they tell a story that is not true , often an interesting or imaginative one.
spin stabilization
a technique by which a bullet , rocket , etc, is made to spin around its longitudinal axis to assist it in maintaining a steady flight path
spin one's wheels
to engage in fruitless activity
spin the bottle
a kissing game played by young people, in which a bottle is laid on its side and spun to point to the one to be kissed
spin your wheels
to fail to do or achieve anything satisfactory
tailspin
a state of confusion or panic
electron spin resonance
a technique for investigating paramagnetic substances by subjecting them to high-frequency radiation in a strong magnetic field . Changes in the spin of unpaired electrons cause radiation to be absorbed at certain frequencies
spinmeister
a person who provides a favourable slant to an item of news , potentially unpopular policy, etc, esp on behalf of a political personality or party
electron paramagnetic resonance
a technique for investigating paramagnetic substances by subjecting them to high-frequency radiation in a strong magnetic field . Changes in the spin of unpaired electrons cause radiation to be absorbed at certain frequencies