swirl

present singular third person swirls · participle present swirling · participle past swirled · past swirled

1. ambitransitiveTo twist or whirl, as an eddy.

   I swirled my brush around in the paint.

   2 more examples

   The river swirled along.

   1857, Charles Kingsley, “(please specify the page)”, in Two Years Ago, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC

   The contest was a lot more even in the second half, as the wind swirled around the Stadium of Light, but it took Craig Gardner's superb block to prevent Young getting on the scoresheet.

   2012 May 13, Alistair Magowan, “Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport

2. To be arranged in a twist, spiral or whorl.
3. figurativelyintransitiveTo circulate.

   Rumors began to swirl last week that Dion would once again be performing after posters with her various song titles began popping up around the French capital.

   2026 March 31, Lisa Respers France, “Celine Dion announces her return to the stage”, in edition.cnn.com

   1 more example

   Mr. Cameron had a respite Thursday from the negative chatter swirling around him when he appeared outside 10 Downing Street to denounce the murder a day before of a British soldier on a London street.

   2013 May 23, Sarah Lyall, “British Leader’s Liberal Turn Sets Off a Rebellion in His Party”, in New York Times, retrieved 29 May 2013

4. datedAfrican-American VernacularTo mingle interracially.

plural swirls

1. A whirling eddy.

   Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.

   1949 June 8, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC, Part I, Chapter I

2. A twist or coil of something.
3. fishingThe upward rushing of a fish through the water to take the bait.
4. datedAfrican-American VernacularInterracial mingling (e.g. dating, sex, marriage, etc.).

   She told that white boy she wasn't down with the swirl and to take himself a hike.

   1 more example

   In truth, it was more to do with keeping up with the latest gossip on YouTube famous interracial ‘swirl’ couples and reality stars.

   2023, Yomi Adegoke, The List, 4th Estate, page 198

5. cookingSynonym of pinwheel (“food product with spiral layers”).

   I'm baking some cheese swirls.

   Synonyms: pinwheel, roll, rollup, pinwheel