Meanings
gyrate1
present singular third person gyrates · participle present gyrating · participle past gyrated · past gyrated
- intransitiveTo revolve round a central point; to move spirally about an axis, as a tornado.
The stripper gyrated sexily around a pole.
1 more example
They gyrated. They jumped. They giggled. They aligned their bodies with the flickering shadows of dancers on the smart board.
2018, Katherine Reynolds Lewis, The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever — And What to Do About It, page 157- figurativelyintransitiveTo revolve and behave unsteadily around a central axis.
The stock exchange values gyrated around the economic instability of the company.
1 more example
Many companies built up pretariff inventories, and gyrating tariff rates make it tricky for retailers to set prices.
2026 January 18, Simon Montlake, “The Trump economy: No recession, but no boom either”, in The Christian Science Monitor, archived from the original on 18 Jan 2026
gyrate2
comparative more gyrate · superlative most gyrate
- biologyHaving coils or convolutions.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbrevolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
gyrate · verb
- Proto-Indo-European*gew-“to bend; to curve”
- Ancient Greekγῦρος“a circle, a ring”
- Old Frenchgirer“to turn”
- Middle Englishgiren“to turn (something) away; to cause (something) to revolve or rotate; to travel in a circle”
- Englishgyrate
Back-formation from gyration, on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from gyre (“to spin around; to gyrate, to whirl; (rare) to make (something) spin or whirl around; to spin, to whirl”) + -ation (suffix indicating actions or processes), further from Late Middle English giren (“to turn (something) away; to cause (something) to revolve or rotate; to travel in a circle”), from Old French girer (“to turn”), from Latin gȳrō (“to turn in a circle, rotate; to circle or revolve around”), from gȳrus (“circle; circular motion; circuit, course”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), from Ancient Greek γῦρος (gûros, “a circle, a ring”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend; to curve”). By surface analysis, gyre + -ate (verb-forming suffix).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →gyrate · adjective
From gyrus (“fold, convolution”) + -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian въртя се, спираловиден
- въртя се (vărtja se)to revolve round a central point; to move spirally about an axis, as a tornado — see also revolve
- спираловиден (spiraloviden)having coils or convolutions
- завит (zavit)having coils or convolutions
Dutch draaien, ronddraaien
- draaiento revolve round a central point; to move spirally about an axis, as a tornado — see also revolve
- ronddraaiento revolve round a central point; to move spirally about an axis, as a tornado — see also revolve
Russian вращаться
- вращаться (vraščatʹsja)to revolve round a central point; to move spirally about an axis, as a tornado — see also revolve
Cite this entry
gyrate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gyrate
“gyrate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gyrate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gyrate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gyrate.
Source: gyrate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.