From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwhirlwhirl1 /wɜːl $ wɜːrl/ verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]TURN to turn or spin around very quickly, or to make someone or something do this We watched the seagulls whirling and shrieking over the harbour.whirl about/around/towards etc She whirled around and her look shook him.whirl somebody/something about/around/away etc He whirled her round in his arms.2 [intransitive]CONFUSED if your head is whirling, or if thoughts are whirling in your head, your mind is full of thoughts and ideas, and you feel very confused or excited His head was whirling with excitement. The implications began to whirl around in her head.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
whirl• Scooping the cup from the workstation with her good hand, she whirled around and flung its contents into Atrimonides' face.• Dust and sand were whirling around in the air, as the desert wind began to get stronger.• Pigeons whirled around it like wind tossed rags.• Clayt Johnson whirled around, squinted and looked the man up and down.• The room began to whirl before my eyes.• Sugar maple seeds, like little helicopters, had whirled in the wind and settled under the trees in the fall.• Katena danced away, whirled into the sky, and disappeared.• The blades of the helicopter whirled powerfully overhead.• He had pointed it at another boy, then whirled round, honed in on Kayla and opened fire.• But as I whirled round I saw that she had already taken off most of her clothes.• Flies whirled round the piles of sticky sweets.• Whirl the ingredients in a blender at high speed for a minute.• The warriors approached, whirling their swords and spears in the air.• The distaff whirled, twisting the threads.whirl about/around/towards etc• Scooping the cup from the workstation with her good hand, she whirled around and flung its contents into Atrimonides' face.• Should the Fanatic start to whirl about anywhere near them they know they are in trouble!• The winds of deception whirl around her, but the new leader persists, without success, in stressing work-related activities.• She felt the room recede sharply then start to whirl around her head.• Clayt Johnson whirled around, squinted and looked the man up and down.• And Earth is not just another planet whirling around the sun on its endless journey through infinite space.• When he reached the open doorway he booted the parcel into the room and whirled around to slam the door behind him.• The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air.whirlwhirl2 noun 1 → give something a whirl2 [singular]BUSY/HAVE A LOT TO DO a lot of activity of a particular kind the social whirl of New York publishingwhirl of The next two days passed in a whirl of activity.3 → be in a whirl4 TURN[countable usually singular] a spinning movement or the shape of something that is spinningwhirl of A car rumbled over the bumpy dirt road, leaving behind a whirl of white dust.Examples from the Corpus
whirl• The next two days passed in a whirl of activity.• The next couple of weeks were spent in a whirl of feverish activity.• a whirl of dust• Sally lived in a happy whirl marred only by worrying about how far she should go.• The recent whirl of legal problems has left him little time for his family.• It was all part of the mad social whirl that young women of her age had to endure.• The whirl of time, the true life inside him.social whirl• A month of arguing in Florida did no favours to the organisers of the inaugural social whirl.• It was all part of the mad social whirl that young women of her age had to endure.• She was quickly caught up in the Southampton social whirl.• Stewart loved the trips to Avon and the social whirl that dominated his life.• She's all for the social whirl of Mayfair or Bond Street, while I like my peace and quiet.Origin whirl1 (1200-1300) Probably from a Scandinavian language 