Library / English Dictionary

SPIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: spinning    , spun   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Example:

the campaign put a favorable spin on the story

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

Rapid descent of an aircraft in a steep spiral

Synonyms:

spin; tailspin

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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

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

Sense 3

Meaning:

A short drive in a car

Example:

he took the new car for a spin

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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

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

Sense 4

Meaning:

The act of rotating rapidly

Example:

it broke off after much twisting

Synonyms:

spin; twirl; twist; twisting; whirl

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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 5

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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Prolong or extend

Example:

spin out a visit

Synonyms:

spin; spin out

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

Twist and turn so as to give an intended interpretation

Example:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

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 3

Meaning:

Work natural fibers into a thread

Example:

spin silk

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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 4

Meaning:

Form a web by making a thread

Example:

spiders spin a fine web

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

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 5

Meaning:

Make up a story

Example:

spin a yarn

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

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 6

Meaning:

Revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis

Example:

The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy

Synonyms:

gyrate; reel; spin; spin around; whirl

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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 7

Meaning:

Cause to spin

Example:

spin a coin

Synonyms:

birl; spin; twirl; whirl

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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 8

Meaning:

Stream in jets, of liquids

Example:

The creek spun its course through the woods

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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

Credits

 Context examples: 

Unlike Earth, the spin axes of Mercury and the Moon are oriented such that, in their polar regions, the Sun never rises high above the horizon.

(The Moon and Mercury May Have Thick Ice Deposits, NASA)

A sensation of lightheadedness, unsteadiness, turning, spinning or rocking.

(Dizziness, NCI Thesaurus)

The glen and sky spun round: the hills heaved!

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Using spin allows the quantum information to be more easily integrated with existing systems.

(Quantum state of single electrons controlled by ‘surfing’ on sound waves, University of Cambridge)

Much like how water empties out of a bathtub, the material spins much faster the closer it gets to the drain.

(Astronomers Study How Quasars Are Powered by Accretion Disks, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Spitzer observed changes in the planet's brightness as the planet spun on its axis, finding a rotation period of 90 hours.

(Investigating the Mystery of Migrating 'Hot Jupiters', NASA)

Geminga was finally identified in March 1991, when flickering X-rays picked up by Germany’s ROSAT mission revealed the source to be a pulsar spinning 4.2 times a second.

(NASA’s Fermi Mission Links Nearby Pulsar’s Gamma-ray ‘Halo’ to Antimatter Puzzle, NASA)

But if the neutron star spins especially fast, those magnetic fields can create a barrier, making it impossible for material to reach the star's surface.

(NASA Satellite Spots a Mystery That's Gone in a Flash, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The expression for electrons’ intrinsic source of magnetism is known as ‘spin’.

(‘Magnetic graphene’ switches between insulator and conductor, University of Cambridge)

It is one of the most extreme of the systems for which the mass and spin rate have ever been measured.

(NuSTAR sees rare blurring of black hole light, NASA)