whirl — OAT · Shobdo

whirl

verb

1 leaves whirled in eddies of wind:

rotate, turn, turn around, go around, revolve, circle, wheel, orbit, pivot, swivel, gyrate, spin, roll, twirl, pirouette;

Scottish birl.

2 Sybil stood waving as they whirled past:

hurry, speed, race, run, sprint, dash, bolt, dart, rush, hasten, hurtle, career, streak, shoot, whiz, zoom, go like lightning, go hell for leather, spank along, bowl along, rattle along, whoosh, buzz, swoop, flash, blast, charge, stampede, gallop, sweep, hare, fly, wing, scurry, scud, scutter, scramble;

informal belt, pelt, tear, hotfoot it, zap, zip, whip, scoot, go like a bat out of hell;

British, informal bomb, bucket, shift, go like the clappers, leg it;

Scottish, informal wheech;

North American, informal clip, boogie, hightail, barrel;

North American, vulgar slang drag/tear/haul ass;

literary fleet;

archaic post, hie.

3 his mind was whirling:

spin, reel, go around, be in a whirl, swim, be/feel giddy, be/feel dizzy.

noun

1 he was gone in a whirl of dust:

swirl, flurry, eddy.

2 all part of the mad social whirl:

hurly-burly, hectic activity, bustle, rush, flurry, to-do, fuss, panic, turmoil;

archaic hurry-scurry.

3 her life was a whirl of parties:

succession, series, sequence, progression, string, chain, cycle, round, merry-go-round.

4 Laura's mind was in a whirl:

spin, daze, stupor, muddle, jumble;

confusion;

informal dither.

5 the only way to find out was to give it a whirl:

try, tryout, test;

informal go, shot, bash, stab.