Verb
They twirled past us on the dance floor.
The cheerleaders jumped and twirled.
The kite twisted and twirled in the wind.
The chef twirled the noodles around his fork. Noun
The dancers executed perfect twirls.
the twirl of the dancer's skirt mesmerized me
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
In the clip, each member twirled around before giving their best poses while showing off their looks.—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2024 The little girl sprinted toward the children’s section, twirling.—Marisa Gerber, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 There are several traditions that have become synonymous with May Day, including festivals and maypoles twirled with brightly colored ribbons.—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2024 On windy days, small clouds of black wings twirl between buildings.—Ash Adams, The Atlantic, 15 Feb. 2024 The act of twirling a pencil has satisfied generations of antsy cubicle inhabitants, and a sturdy Ticonderoga costs mere pennies.—Sonia Rao, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2024 Its last Moncler Genius extravaganza, held at London’s Kensington Olympia during London Fashion Week in February 2023, saw Rick Owens stage a mini rave, acrobats twirl from the sky around Mercedes Benz G Wagons, and Alicia Keys duet with Cleo Sol and Little Simz before an audience of 10,000 people.—Laura Hawkins, Vogue, 5 Feb. 2024 VTech Busy Learners Activity Cube $20 $14 With five sides of play to explore, babies can press, slide, and twirl this toy’s many buttons and knobs.—Maya Polton, Parents, 17 Jan. 2024 Couples can fill days skiing on the groomed slopes, riding the gondola for sweeping views, hitting the Nordic trail system, and twirling around the ice.—Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 6 Nov. 2023
Noun
Gradually, the planet may have slipped into a more stable twirl that’s at odds with the rest of its peers in the solar system.—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024 But the pretense is all part of the act, which involved Usher pulling out every glide, twirl, hip-thrust, and spin-move in his repertoire to sell the moment, to sell R&B as legitimate pop music.—Clover Hope, Pitchfork, 12 Feb. 2024 Nearby, a middle-aged player in a Mets cap twirls and flicks the 100-plus knobs and switches of a 40-pound instrument called the GRP A4, which is the size of a large air-conditioner.—Zoë Beery, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2023 But as rehearsals grow increasingly intense, the young women start to feel like they're being watched and infatuation twirls into something far more ominous.—Ew Staff, EW.com, 13 Sep. 2023 Venus twirls in a different direction Almost all planets in our solar system, Earth included, spin counterclockwise on their axes.—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024 Dancing With the Stars twirls back to ABC on Tuesday, Sept. 26.—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 12 Sep. 2023 All of Culkin’s twirls, kisses, and antics at the Emmys below.—Vulture, 15 Jan. 2024 These freestyle braids take the shape of mesmerizing twirls, swirls, and symbols that emulate hieroglyphic script hiding a celestial message.—Oyetunde Olubowale, Allure, 20 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'twirl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect tvirla to twirl; akin to Old High German dweran to stir
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