whirling

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɝlɪŋ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɜːlɪŋ/
• (rhotic, without the wine–whine merger) IPA^(key): /ˈʍɝlɪŋ/
• (non-rhotic, without the wine–whine merger) IPA^(key): /ˈʍɜːlɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)lɪŋ
• Hyphenation: whir‧ling

Adjective

whirling

1. Revolving, rotating, turning rapidly.

   a whirling carousel;  whirling dancers

   • 1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid:

     The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them.

Noun

whirling (countable and uncountable, plural whirlings)

1. A swift or rapid turning or rotation; a circling movement.
2. (US, sociology, criminology, uncommon) An organized attack where a group of people, usually teenagers, surround and attack women, with sudden physical assaults or harassment.

   Coordinate term: wilding

Verb

whirling

1. present participle and gerund of whirl

Derived terms

• Whirling Dervish
• whirling disease
• whirlingly
• whirlingness
• whirling pits
• whirling table