spin Definition

spin
verb spun (past tense, past participle), spinning (present participle)

tr & intr
1. To rotate or cause to rotate repeatedly, especially quickly.

Example: We spun a coin to see who would go first
Thesaurus: revolve, whirl, twirl, rotate, turn, gyrate, gyre.
2. To draw out and twist (fibres, etc) into thread.
3a. Said of spiders, silkworms, etc: to construct (a web, cocoon, etc) from the silky thread they produce;
3b. To tell (lies).

Example: spun a complex web of lies
Thesaurus: concoct, invent, produce, shape, mould, form, unfold.
4a. To bowl, throw, kick, strike, etc (a ball) so that it rotates while moving forward, causing a change in the expected direction or speed;
4b. Said of a ball, etc: to be delivered in this way.
intr
5. Said of someone's head, etc: to have a revolving and disorientated sensation, especially one that is brought on by excitement, amazement, drugs or alcohol, etc.
6. To dry (washing) in a spin-dryer.
7. Said of the wheels of a motor vehicle: to turn rapidly but without any forward momentum.
8. To play (a record, CD, cassette, etc).

Example: a station that spins mainly indie stuff

noun

1. An act or process of spinning or a spinning motion.

Thesaurus: turn, whirl, revolution, rotation, twist, pirouette, circuit.
2. Rotation in a ball thrown, struck, etc.
3. A nose-first spiral descent in an aircraft, especially one that is out of control. Also called tailspin.
4. colloq
A short trip in a vehicle, for pleasure.
5. colloq
An act of playing a record, etc.
6. Said of information, a news report, etc, especially that of a political nature: a favourable bias.

Example: The PR department will put a spin on it
Thesaurus: bias, slant, angle.

Derivative: spinning
noun, adj

Derivative: spun

See separate entry.

Idiom: spin a yarn, tale,

To tell a story, especially a long improbable one.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon spinnan.

Phrasal Verb: spin out

To prolong (an activity, etc).To cause (something) to last longer through economical use.

Phrasal Verb: spin round

To turn around, especially quickly or unexpectedly.