swirl

verb

/swɜːl/

/swɜːrl/

[intransitive, transitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they swirl	/swɜːl/ /swɜːrl/
he / she / it swirls	/swɜːlz/ /swɜːrlz/
past simple swirled	/swɜːld/ /swɜːrld/
past participle swirled	/swɜːld/ /swɜːrld/
-ing form swirling	/ˈswɜːlɪŋ/ /ˈswɜːrlɪŋ/

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to move around quickly in a circle; to make something do this
- (+ adv./prep.) The water swirled down the drain.
- A long skirt swirled around her ankles.
- swirling mists
- swirl something (+ adv./prep.) He took a mouthful of water and swirled it around his mouth.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Swirl is used with these nouns as the subject:
cloak
cloud
dust
…
See full entry
Word Originlate Middle English (originally Scots in the sense ‘whirlpool’): perhaps of Low German or Dutch origin; compare with Dutch zwirrelen ‘to whirl’.

swirl

noun

/swɜːl/

/swɜːrl/

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the movement of something that twists and turns in different directions and at different speeds
- The dancers left the stage in a swirl of skirts.
a pattern or an object that twists in circles
- The material is yellow with blue swirls on it.
- The cakes were topped with swirls of cream.

Word Originlate Middle English (originally Scots in the sense ‘whirlpool’): perhaps of Low German or Dutch origin; compare with Dutch zwirrelen ‘to whirl’.