Word.ws English Dictionary

spin

/spɪn/

spin verb: to rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction. Also the clipping of spinnaker.

Verb

spin (third-person singular simple present spins, present participle spinning, simple past spun or (uncommon) span or (nonstandard) spinned, past participle spun or (nonstandard) spinned)

  1. (ergative) To rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.
    • I spun myself around a few times.
    • Spin the ball on the floor.
    1. (ergative) To enter, or remain in, a spin (abnormal stalled flight mode).
    2. (ergative) To cause one's aircraft to enter or remain in a spin (abnormal stalled flight mode).
  2. (transitive) To make yarn by twisting and winding fibers together.
    • They spin the cotton into thread.
    • Along the Sunny Bank, or Wat’ry Mead, / Ten thouſand Stalks their various Bloſſoms ſpread : / Peaceful and lowly in their native Soil, / They neither know to ſpin, nor care to toil ; / Yet with confeſs’d Magnificence deride / Our vile Attire, and Impotence of Pride.1718, Matthew Prior, “Solomon on the Vanity of the World”, in Poems on Several Occasions, volume II, Dublin: George Grierson, published 1738, book I, page 115
  3. (figuratively) To present, describe, or interpret, or to introduce a bias or slant, so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance.
    • But because he is but briefe, and these things of great consequence not to be kept obscure, I shall conceave it nothing above my duty either for the difficulty or the censure that may passe thereon, to communicate such thoughts as I also have had, and do offer them now in this generall labour of...1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce
    • In every administration there will be spokesmen and public affairs officers who try to spin the news to make the president look good. But this administration is trying to spin scientific data and muzzle scientists toward that end.2006 February 9, “The Politics of Science”, in The Washington Post, page A22
    Synonyms:
    whitewash, sugarcoat, put lipstick on, gild, blandish, dress up
  4. To make the ball move sideways when it bounces on the pitch.
    • This pitch is usually preferred for spin than pace.
  5. To move sideways when bouncing.
    • Spinning the ball gave him figures of 7-48.
  6. To form into thin strips or ribbons, as with sugar.
  7. To form (a web, a cocoon, silk, etc.) from threads produced by the extrusion of a viscid, transparent liquid, which hardens on coming into contact with the air; said of the spider, the silkworm, etc.
    • I spin a thread that you can't see / A web of thoughts best left unclean2024, “Clawing Out”, in Greif, performed by Zeal & Ardor, Track 6
  8. To shape, as malleable sheet metal, into a hollow form, by bending or buckling it by pressing against it with a smooth hand tool or roller while the metal revolves, as in a lathe.
  9. To move swiftly.
    • to spin along the road in a carriage, on a bicycle, etc.
  10. To stream or issue in a thread or a small current or jet.
    • Blood spins from a vein.
    • Mount them, and make inciſion in their Hides, / That their hot blood may ſpin in Engliſh eyes, / And doubt them with ſuperfluous courage : ha.1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  11. (intransitive) To wait in a loop until some condition becomes true.
  12. (intransitive) To rotate into the gravel or managing to remain on the straight as a result of bad weather.
    • His car spun in the rains just after finishing lap four.
Show 7 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (informal, transitive) To play (vinyl records, etc.) as a disc jockey.
    • However, for the past six years he has been spinning his novel blend of progressive house and trance music and is finally on the brink of becoming the next luminary DJ.2002, CMJ New Music Report, volume 70, number 12
  2. (intransitive) To use an exercise bicycle, especially as part of a gym class.
  3. (intransitive) To ride a bicycle at a fast cadence.
  4. (UK, slang, transitive) To search rapidly.
    • But then again, unless someone struck lucky in those first few hours, there weren't even enough detectives to spin a drum [house].2013, Nick Oldham, Psycho Alley
  5. (transitive) To draw out tediously; prolong.
    • to spin a yarn
    Synonyms:
    spin out
  6. To fish with a swivel or spoonbait.
  7. (archaic, slang, transitive) To reject at an examination; to fail (a student).
    Synonyms:
    flunk, plough, pluck

Noun (1)

spin (countable and uncountable, plural spins)

  1. Circular motion, usually rapid.
    • The car went into a spin.
    • The skaters demonstrated their spins.
  2. A state of confusion or disorientation.
    • My mind was in a spin.
  3. (quantum mechanics) A quantum angular momentum associated with subatomic particles, which also creates a magnetic moment.
  4. A novel, creative variation of an existing thing or type; a twist.
    • The media has been having a field day not only with the usual tired homophobic innuendos (which one has come to expect) but with new spins on queer bashing that might even seem inventive if they were not so hateful.1991 August 10, Michael Bronski, “'I Know You Are, But What Am I?'”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 4, page 1
  5. (figuratively) A favourable comment or interpretation intended to bias opinion on an otherwise unpleasant situation.
    • spin doctor
    • Try to put a positive spin on the disappointing sales figures.
  6. Rotation of the ball as it flies through the air; sideways movement of the ball as it bounces.
    Synonyms:
    swazz
  7. A condition of flight where a stalled aircraft is simultaneously pitching, yawing, and rolling in a spinning motion.
  8. An abnormal condition in journal bearings where the bearing seizes to the rotating shaft and rotates inside the journal, destroying both the shaft and the journal.
  9. A brief trip by vehicle, especially one made for pleasure.
    • I'm off out for a spin in my new sports car.
    • But she opened the door and said "Honey, take me for a spin." / So we drove up town just to get the tags / And I headed her right on down main drag / I could hear everybody laughin' for blocks around / But up there at the court house they didn't laugh / 'Cause to type it up it took the whole staff...1976, “One Piece at a Time”, Wayne Kemp (music), performed by Johnny Cash
  10. A bundle of spun material; a mass of strands and filaments.
    • She left him alone, and went to get Annie a spin of toffee.1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 1, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC
  11. A single play of a record; especially, one broadcast by a radio station.
    • Let's give this classic LP another spin.
    • Although the Loveless title showed the smallest increase in airplay in the top 10, its number of detections outpaced the nearest bulleted title by more than 350 spins.1996, Billboard, volume 108, number 12, page 37
  12. (UK, slang) A search of a prisoner's cell for forbidden articles.
    • Mr Weedon explains that this is a cell search - known by prisoners as a spin - and for obvious reasons it has to be carried out without any warning.2002, Jeffrey Archer, A Prison Diary
  13. (dated) An unmarried woman; a spinster.
    • Some years ago, when I was a slim young spin, I came out to India to live with my brother Tom […]1893, Bithia Mary Croker, "To Let" in "To Let" etc., Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1906, p. 1, https://archive.org/details/toletcroker00crok
  14. (uncountable) The use of an exercise bicycle, especially as part of a gym class.
    Synonyms:
    spinning

Noun (2)

spin (plural spins)

  1. (slang, autism) A special interest of an autistic person.
    • berdly if your friends were homestuck characters who would they be. //sorry autism wants me dead, berdlys my fav character and hs is my spin. you will never heard the end of it from me2024 April 15, @XxKilla_KrisxX, Twitter
    Synonyms:
    spinterest

Also used as

spin is also the clipping of spinnaker.

spin meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Malayalam

spin in Hindi

physics: quantum angular momentum
प्रचक्रण pracakraṇ

spin in Tamil

சுழல்தல், சுழற்ற, சுழல

spin in Urdu

گھماؤ

spin in Malayalam

കറക്കാൻ
More languagesFewer languages
spin in Punjabi
ਸਪਿੱਨ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ
spin in Gujarati
કાંતવું, સ્પિન, સ્પિન કરવા માટે
spin in Nepali
स्पिन गर्न
spin in Arabic
رَدَنَ radana, غَزَلَ ḡazala, اِغْتَزَلَ iḡtazala, فَتَلَ fatala
spin in Persian
رشتن reštan, تنیدن tanidan, اسپین espin
spin in Thai
หมุน mǔn, ปั่น bpàn, สปิน spin
spin in Vietnamese
quay

Examples of spin in a sentence

  • He put some spin on the cue ball.
  • The politician was mocked in the press for his reliance on spin rather than facts.
  • "Shall we spin for it?" "Might as well." "All right.1929, Agatha Christie, The Seven Dials Mystery:
  • I started out by spinning a full bobbin of natural white cotton in the normal Z-spun direction.2026, Tom Knisley, “Exploring S- and Z-Twist”, in Spin Off, volume L, number 1, page 42:
  • This past week[…] Republicans completed their journey through the looking-glass, spinning a new counternarrative of that deadly day.2021 July 31, Lisa Lerer, Nicholas Fandos, “Already Distorting Jan. 6, G.O.P. Now Concocts Entire Counternarrative”, in The New York Times...
  • Rather than sit within total absence our brains spin imagined stimuli out into the void.2025 January 15, Jacob Geller, “Fear of Dark” (2:52 from the start), in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

All 40 example sentences with spin

Synonyms of spin

3 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of spin

Forms of spin

Verb
third-person singular presentspins
present participlespinning
pastspun
past uncommonspan
past participlespun
past (nonstandard)spinned
past participle (nonstandard)spinned
Noun
pluralspins
alternative formSpIn

Past tense of spin: spun

Plural of spin: spins

Origin of spin

From Middle English spinnen, from Old English spinnan, from Proto-Germanic *spinnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)penh₁-. Cognates Cognate with Dutch, German spinnen (“to spin”), Luxembourgish spannen (“to spin”), Yiddish שפּינען (shpinen, “spin”), Danish spinde (“to spin”), Faroese, Icelandic and Swedish spinna (“to spin”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk spinne (“to spin”), Gothic 𐍃𐍀𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (spinnan, “to spin”).

Clipping of spinnaker.

Clipping of special interest.

Words formed from spin

Phrases with spin

67 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with spin

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about spin

What does spin mean?
Spin means to rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.
What is spin in Hindi?
Spin in Hindi is प्रचक्रण (pracakraṇ). See Spin meaning in Hindi.
How do you use spin in a sentence?
He put some spin on the cue ball.
What part of speech is spin?
Spin can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce spin?
Spin is pronounced /spɪn/.
What is the past tense of spin?
The past tense of spin is spun.

Words near spin in the dictionary

  1. spimes
  2. spimmer
  3. spimmers
  4. spimming
  5. spims
  6. spin
  7. spin a tale
  8. spin a yarn
  9. spin bath
  10. spin baths
  11. spin bike

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: spin (page history and authors); spin (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); spin (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); spin (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); spin (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); spin (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); spin (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-spin.ogg, en-au-spin.ogg.

Cite this entry: “spin.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/spin. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.