SPIN (spinning, spun)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does spin mean? 

• SPIN (noun)
  The noun SPIN has 5 senses:

1. a swift whirling motion (usually of a missile)

2. the act of rotating rapidly

3. a short drive in a car

4. rapid descent of an aircraft in a steep spiral

5. a distinctive interpretation (especially as used by politicians to sway public opinion)

  Familiarity information: SPIN used as a noun is common.

• SPIN (verb)
  The verb SPIN has 8 senses:

1. revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis

2. stream in jets, of liquids

3. cause to spin

4. make up a story

5. form a web by making a thread

6. work natural fibers into a thread

7. twist and turn so as to give an intended interpretation

8. prolong or extend

  Familiarity information: SPIN used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPIN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A swift whirling motion (usually of a missile)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("spin" is a kind of...):

gyration; revolution; rotation (a single complete turn (axial or orbital))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spin"):

backspin (spin (usually of a moving ball) that retards or reverses the forward motion)

English; side ((sports) the spin given to a ball by striking it on one side or releasing it with a sharp twist)

topspin (forward spin (usually of a moving ball) that is imparted by an upward stroke)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of rotating rapidly

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

spin; twirl; twist; twisting; whirl

Context example:

it broke off after much twisting

Hypernyms ("spin" is a kind of...):

rotary motion; rotation (the act of rotating as if on an axis)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spin"):

pirouette ((ballet) a rapid spin of the body (especially on the toes as in ballet))

birling; logrolling (rotating a log rapidly in the water (as a competitive sport))

Derivation:

spin (revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis)

spin (cause to spin)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A short drive in a car

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

he took the new car for a spin

Hypernyms ("spin" is a kind of...):

drive; ride (a journey in a vehicle (usually an automobile))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Rapid descent of an aircraft in a steep spiral

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

spin; tailspin

Hypernyms ("spin" is a kind of...):

acrobatics; aerobatics; stunt flying; stunting (the performance of stunts while in flight in an aircraft)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A distinctive interpretation (especially as used by politicians to sway public opinion)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the campaign put a favorable spin on the story

Hypernyms ("spin" is a kind of...):

interpretation; rendering; rendition (the act of interpreting something as expressed in an artistic performance)

• SPIN (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

gyrate; reel; spin; spin around; whirl

Context example:

The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy

Hypernyms (to "spin" is one way to...):

go around; revolve; rotate (turn on or around an axis or a center)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "spin"):

whirligig (whirl or spin like a whirligig)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

The coins spin
These balls spin easily

Derivation:

spin (the act of rotating rapidly)

spinner (fisherman's lure; revolves when drawn through the water)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Stream in jets, of liquids

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The creek spun its course through the woods

Hypernyms (to "spin" is one way to...):

stream; well out (flow freely and abundantly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "spin"):

centrifugate; centrifuge (rotate at very high speed in order to separate the liquids from the solids)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cause to spin

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

birl; spin; twirl; whirl

Context example:

spin a coin

Hypernyms (to "spin" is one way to...):

circumvolve; rotate (cause to turn on an axis or center)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They spin the coin

Derivation:

spin (the act of rotating rapidly)

spinner (board game equipment that consists of a dial and an arrow that is spun to determine the next move in the game)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make up a story

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

spin a yarn

Hypernyms (to "spin" is one way to...):

cook up; fabricate; invent; make up; manufacture (concoct something artificial or untrue)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Form a web by making a thread

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

spiders spin a fine web

Hypernyms (to "spin" is one way to...):

create from raw material; create from raw stuff (make from scratch)

"Spin" entails doing...:

extrude; squeeze out (form or shape by forcing through an opening)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Work natural fibers into a thread

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

spin silk

Hypernyms (to "spin" is one way to...):

distort; twine; twist (form into a spiral shape)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

spinner (someone who spins (who twists fibers into threads))

spinning (creating thread)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Twist and turn so as to give an intended interpretation

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

The President's spokesmen had to spin the story to make it less embarrassing

Hypernyms (to "spin" is one way to...):

lay out; present; represent (bring forward and present to the mind)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "spin"):

sugarcoat (cause to appear more pleasant or appealing)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 8

Meaning:

Prolong or extend

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

spin; spin out

Context example:

spin out a visit

Hypernyms (to "spin" is one way to...):

draw out; extend; prolong; protract (lengthen in time; cause to be or last longer)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

 Context examples 

But observations of the spin rate alone were not sufficient to give a clear measurement of what the inner core was like.

(A Closer Look at Mercury’s Spin and Gravity Reveals the Planet’s Inner Solid Core, NASA)

Because the galaxy does not spin in uniform ways, the researchers had to come up with such a curve to better understand the distances of the galactic objects.

(Researchers Estimate Mass of Milky Way to Be 3.9 Tredecillion Pounds, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

You will be able to go, so spin your compass and decide on a location that you have always wanted to see.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The room and all round seemed to spin round.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“I see this work won’t do,” said he: “try and spin; perhaps you will do that better.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Balance problems can make you feel unsteady or as if you were moving, spinning, or floating.

(Balance Problems, NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Like Earth's moon, Mimas takes the same amount of time to spin completely around on its axis as it takes to orbit its planet.

(Saturn Moon May Hide a 'Fossil' Core or an Ocean, NASA)

If you feel that the room is spinning, you have vertigo.

(Dizziness and Vertigo, NIH)

As I entered, his seat spun round to face me.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

With one blow of his paw he sent the Scarecrow spinning over and over to the edge of the road, and then he struck at the Tin Woodman with his sharp claws.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)