twirl

Plural: twirls

Noun

a sharp bend in a line produced when a line having a loop is pulled tight
the act of rotating rapidly
A movement where a person spins round elegantly; a pirouette.
Any rotating movement; a spin.
A little twist of some substance; a swirl.
A prison guard.

Verb

Verb Forms: twirled, twirling, twirls

To spin or rotate rapidly.
turn in a twisting or spinning motion
cause to spin
To perform a twirl.
To rotate rapidly.
To twist round.
To pitch.

Examples

He would often TWIRL his pen anxiously while waiting for his opponent to play.
The conductor gave his baton a twirl, and the orchestra began to play.

Origin / Etymology

Of Scandinavian origin, akin to Norwegian Nynorsk tvirla, Old High German dweran (German zwirlen, quirlen), Dutch dwarrelen and Icelandic þyrill; all from Proto-Germanic *þwirilaz (“stirring-stick, whisk”), *þweraną (“to stir”). Or, an alteration of tirl (“to twist”), with influence from whirl.

Synonyms

birl, kink, spin, swirl, twiddle, twist, twisting, whirl, screw

Scrabble Score: 8

twirl: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
twirl: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
twirl: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

twirl: valid Words With Friends Word