Turn, spin, revolve, rotate, whirl, swirl, twirl

Question

Hi,Can you explain their differences?I googled them, and found that people tend to contrast1) turn with spin, 2) revolve and rotate, and 3) whirl, swirl, and twirl.  So are they used in different situations and describe different phenomena?Is a top turning, spinning, rotating, revolving?Do you turn or spin the steering wheel of the car?Does your shoulder joint turn or rotate, or spin?Do you turn, rotate, or spin your bike crank?Does the windmill turn, spin or rotate?Does the water in the whirlpool turn or ...?Is the coin turning, spinning, rotating on the table?Is the merry-go-round turning, spinning, or revolving?Are the fallen leaves turning, swirling, whirling in the courtyard?Do you turn, spin, rotate the globe for the geography class?Sorry for giving too many examples.Can we say, in everyday conversation, turn is most common? Can it fit all the above sentences?Thank you in advance!Stephen

JohnParis · Accepted Answer

These are what I would say - others may differ and they would not be incorrect.

a top spins

Turn the steering wheel of the car

your shoulder joint rotates

Do you turn, rotate, or spin your bike crank? Please rephrase

the windmill turns

the whirlpool spins

a coin spins on the table

the merry-go-round is turning

fallen leaves swirling in the courtyard

rotate the globe for the geography class (it's on an axis)

Stephenlearner · Answer

Thank you.

I want to describe the component of a bicycle. They are connected to the pedals. You press the pedals, and the force will make them turn.

I looked them up in a dictionary, and found the word crank. Bicycles are rarely used nowadays. Sorry for giving this example.

Can you explain the difference between spin and turn?

JohnParis · Answer

To me, spin carries the connotation of turning 360° in rapid succession.

Again, to me, turn means a change in direction (perhaps a 90° turn at a crossroads) or to rotate at a slower speed than spin. Of course, you can make a 360° turn, but to spin imparts a meaning of rapid turning.

The earth rotates on its axis, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_rotation), at 1,674.4 km/h.

Is the planet turning on its axis or spinning on its axis? Which would you choose?

John

Stephenlearner · Answer

Hi John,

Thank you for your further explanation. Now it is more clear.

I would choose spin, since I think the planets rotate fast, though some do not turn so fast.

You could find a pencil sharpner with a hand crank in this link:

http://www.miniinthebox.com/hand-crank-desktop-pencil-sharpener_p223110.html

Do you turn the crank or rotate it? Spin may not be proper, because people don't spin it fast.

Is revolve the crank proper?

JohnParis · Answer

I think you understand it now.

I too would say "spin" for what our planet does on its axis.

Turn the crank is preferred; revolve and rotate are awkward.

John

Stephenlearner · Answer

Thank you, John.

ApplesAreLife · Answer

I have another example: What if you're drunk... Do you feel like you're spinning, rotating, twirling or....?

Anonymous · Answer

Turning, can be fast or slow, but it usually implies rotating in one direction or another, but it doesn't have to be a full rotation.

A rotation is just a reorientation of an object; anything can be rotated in any direction and it doesn't matter how many degrees you rotate it. Rotation is the general term used for all of the other words.

To revolve means that you rotate an object around a central axis.

Spinning originally comes from spinning thread, which is to draw out and twist a fiber, but it is used all the time to mean revolve (it's a pretty easy and common term to use, rather than revolve). You don't have to spin fast, but usually if it's used in an abstract way speed is implied (My head is spinning).

Further, in order to spin something, it has to make at least one full rotation (360). Prior to that it is a turn.

Whirl, twirl, and swirl are all close and similar, but a bit different.

Let's start with swirl. Swirling something implies that you are twisting, turning, spinning something in a spiraling pattern.

Twirl is something that is done lightly-- that's an important distinction, you twirl in a dress or you twirl your hair. This is not an aggressive or forceful action. A swirl can be strong or weak, but a twirl is always light not heavy.

The third one, whirl, is to move something around rapidly and around. When something whirls it spins but it also moves location (not around a central axis)

There are nuances in each of the words, but for the most part people use them interchangeably and based on the way they were raised. I don't think the majority of English speakers take the time to consider the nuances of each word and would tell you they are all the same. The only major distinction is between turn and all the others. A turn, being a one-time thing and with some degree of permanence. Spin, whirl, twirl, and swirl all happen more than once and in succession.

There's also rolling, which implies a forward spin. (And I believe there are others out there that aren't coming to the top of my head right now). In math and physics the words have precise meanings, but otherwise have fun switching it up from time to time. Most people will understand and some will get a giggle out of hearing something that makes sense, but is different from what they expect. That's not a bad thing, I actually rather enjoy it and people with a vast understanding of a language will often do it just to poke fun.

Turn, spin, revolve, rotate, whirl, swirl, twirl

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions