[spin] vb spun ; spin.ning [ME spinnen, fr. OE spinnan; akin to OHG spinnan to spin and perh. to Lith spesti to set (a trap)] vi (bef. 12c) 1: to draw out and twist fiber into yarn or thread
2: to form a thread by extruding a viscous rapidly hardening fluid--used esp. of a spider or insect 3 a: to revolve rapidly: gyrate b: to feel as if in a whirl: reel "my head is spinning"
4: to move swiftly esp. on or as if on wheels or in a vehicle
5: to fish with spinning bait: troll
6. a of an airplane: to fall in a spin b: to plunge helplessly and out of control ~ vt 1 a: to draw out and twist into yarns or threads b: to produce by drawing out and twisting a fibrous material
2: to form (as a web or cocoon) by spinning 3 a: to stretch out or extend (as a story) lengthily: protract--usu. used with out b: to evolve, express, or fabricate by processes of mind or imagination "~ a yarn"
4: to cause to whirl: impart spin to "~ a top"
5: to shape into threadlike form in manufacture; also: to manufacture by a whirling process
[2]spin n (1831) 1 a: the act of spinning or twirling something; also: an instance of spinning or of spinning something "doing axels and ~s" "an assortment of ~s and lobs" b: the whirling motion imparted (as to a ball or top) by spinning c: an excursion or ride in a vehicle esp. on wheels "go for a ~"
2. a: an aerial maneuver or flight condition consisting of a combination of roll and yaw with the longitudinal axis of the airplane inclined steeply downward b: a plunging descent or downward spiral c: a state of mental confusion "in a ~" 3 a: a quantum characteristic of an elementary particle that is visualized as the rotation of the particle on its axis and that is responsible for measurable angular momentum and magnetic moment b: the angular momentum associated with such rotation whose magnitude is quantized and which may assume either of two possible directions; also: the angular momentum of a system of such particles derived from the spins and orbital motions of the particles
4: a special point of view, emphasis, or interpretation "put the most favorable ~ on the findings" -- spin.less adj