I. ˈspin verb
( spun ˈspən ; or archaic span ˈspan, -paa(ə)n ; spun ; spinning ; spins )
Etymology: Middle English spinnen, from Old English spinnan; akin to Old High German spinnan to spin, Old Norse spinna, Gothic spinnan to spin, Latin sponte of one's free will, voluntarily, Greek span to draw, pull, tear — more at span
intransitive verb
1. : to draw and twist thread : make yarn or thread from fiber
watched the jennies spin
sat by the fireside spinning
2. : to form a thread, web, or cocoon by extruding a viscous rapidly hardening fluid — used of a spider or silkworm
3.
a. : to revolve or whirl rapidly : gyrate , rotate
little boys' tops were spinning in the spring afternoon
round about him spun the landscape — H.W.Longfellow
b. : to turn quickly on one's heel : face about in place
as one man we spun round — Rex Keating
c. : to rotate or whirl rapidly in dancing
d. : to feel as if revolving : be in a whirl : reel
her head was spinning at the finality and emptiness of the prospect
4. : to stream or spurt (as blood or juice) in a thread or jet
5. : to last out : extend
6.
a. : to move swiftly on wheels or in a vehicle
Sunday trippers were spinning over the highway in flashing cars
bicycles spun about an indoor track
spins up the river in a little powerboat
b. : to pass quickly
time spins away when we are occupied
7. Britain : to fail in an examination : flunk
8.
a. : to fish with spinning bait (as a spoon) : troll
b. : to fish with a fixed spool reel and light line
9.
a. of an airplane : to fall in a spin
b. : to spiral rapidly downward : fall dizzily and out of control : be caught in a vortex
watch a normal-seeming man spin downward to madness and abnormality — James Kelly
transitive verb
1.
a. : to draw out and twist (fibers) into yarns or threads by hand or by machine
mills that spin cotton, flax, or wool
b. : to produce (yarn or thread) by drawing out and twisting a fibrous material
c. : to convert (pulp or chemical solutions) into rayon or other man-made filaments by extruding, solidifying, and winding
d. : to pass (an appropriate solution or melt) through a spinneret in the production of synthetic fibers (as rayon or nylon)
e. : to form (filaments) by extruding pulp or chemical solutions through spinnerets, solidifying, and winding
f. : to form (wire strands) into cable or wire rope
2. : to form (a thread, web, or cocoon) by the extrusion of a viscous rapidly hardening fluid — used of a spider or a silkworm
3.
a. : to form or produce in a manner resembling a spinning process : draw out slowly, by degrees, or at length : extend , prolong , protract — usually used with out
possessed the ability to spin a saga out of their escapades — Benjamin De Casseres
spins a short-story plot into over 90,000 words of torpid action — Anthony Boucher
spins out the small talk of a chance meeting — Current Biography
b. : to evolve, express, or fabricate by processes of mind or imagination
the most persistent risk that has always attended all spinning of yarns — C.E.Montague
no more can the imagination spin its fantastic tales of adventure — W.P.Webb
spun a ritual full of cryptic references — C.W.Ferguson
the theorists spun their theories — Time
c. : to make last : stretch out the duration of : extend in time or space — used with out
spinning out his glass of port as long as possible — Elizabeth Goudge
4. archaic : to spend (time) to no effect — used with out
5. : to cause to turn round rapidly : twirl , whirl
boys spun their tops on the sidewalks
6.
a. : to shape (a material) into threadlike form in manufacture
spun gold
b. : to manufacture by a whirling process
began to spin glass flat by the crown method — Freda Diamond
the bearings are centrifugally cast by spinning the rod with the center of its lower end … as the axis of rotation — H.F.Blanchard & Ralph Ritchen
c. : to form (metal hollow ware) on a mold on a lathe face plate with a roller or other hand tool
a spun aluminum canister
bowls of spun copper
7. Britain : to fail (a student) in an examination : flunk
8. : to put together or construct (something likened to a spider's web)
as the arctic radar net is spun — Time
9. : to throw off (a fragment) by or as if by centrifugal force from a whirling object
spun off a couple of independent companies from its corporate structure to satisfy the justice department
10.
a. : to fish (a body of water) with a spinner or spinning bait
b. : to fish (a body of water) with a fixed spool reel and light line
11. : to set (a phonograph disc record) rotating on a turntable : play
was spinning records on an all-night radio show
Synonyms: see turn
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the act of spinning or twirling something
the decision rested on the spin of a coin
b. : the revolving or whirling motion imparted by spinning
the spin of a top
the spin given to a cricket ball by a bowler
— compare english II 5, hook 6b, slice III
c. : an excursion in a vehicle especially on wheels
an evening spin in the car
out for a spin in a powerboat
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 so that it descends in a helix of large pitch and very small radius with its upper side on the inside of the helix while the angle of attack on the inner wing is maintained at an extremely large value
b. : a plunging descent or downward spiral
when … the world enters upon the downward spin , it is desirable that each country should … stimulate revival — R.F.Harrod
c. : a mental whirl : a state of confusion or depression
been in a spin ever since the bankruptcy
3.
a. : a system of velocities of any number of points all due to one and the same definite angular velocity about one and the same axis
b.
(1) : the rapid rotation of an elementary particle (as an electron) on its own axis or of a system of such particles in orbital motion that is responsible for measurable angular momentum and magnetic moment
(2) : the angular momentum associated with such rotation
4. : a quick dance turn on the narrowest possible base
5. Australia : luck
had a good spin — Ruth Park
had a tough spin — Frank Sargeson
III. noun
: a special point of view, emphasis, or interpretation controlling a presentation : angle
put the proper spin on what took place … between their two leaders — Hugh Sidey