whirligig

/'w :ligig/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
whirligig

A child spins a colorful whirligig on a wooden table.

Definition

  1. Noun:

    • A spinning toy: A child's plaything, typically conical or top-shaped, that is set in motion by spinning it on a point.
    • A merry-go-round: A large, rotating amusement ride with seats, often in the shape of animals like horses, for children to ride on.
    • A whirling motion or a cycle: Used figuratively to describe a rapid, spinning movement or the cyclical, often unpredictable, nature of events.

  2. Verb:

    • To whirl or spin rapidly: To move or cause to move in a fast, circular motion, resembling the action of a whirligig toy.
Usage Examples

  • Noun:

    • The child was delighted with his new wooden whirligig. (The toy spun beautifully on the floor.)
    • We rode the colorful whirligig at the village fair. (The merry-go-round played cheerful music.)
    • He reflected on the whirligig of fortune that had brought him from poverty to wealth. (Life's unpredictable cycles were on his mind.)

  • Verb:

    • The leaves began to whirligig in the sudden gust of wind. (They spun wildly through the air.)
Advanced Usage

  • "the whirligig of time": A literary phrase referring to the constant and often ironic changes brought by the passage of time.

    • The play explores the whirligig of time, showing how the bullied becomes the bully.

  • "whirligig beetle": A type of small aquatic beetle known for its characteristic gyrating swimming pattern on the water's surface.

    • We observed the whirligig beetles skimming and spinning on the pond.
Variants and Related Words

  • Whirligigging (verb, present participle): The act of spinning or whirling.

    • The dancers were whirligigging across the stage.

  • Whirl (verb/noun): A core root meaning a rapid, circular movement.

  • Gig (noun, archaic): A top or spinning toy, contributing to the word's formation.
Synonyms
  • Noun (toy): Top, spinner, teetotum.
  • Noun (ride): Merry-go-round, carousel, roundabout.
  • Verb: Whirl, spin, twirl, gyrate, pirouette.
Related Phrases
  • To set the whirligig spinning: To initiate a rapid sequence of events or changes.
    • The scandal set the political whirligig spinning.
Idioms
  • The whirligig of life: The ups and downs, the unpredictable changes and reversals in one's life circumstances.
    • In the whirligig of life, today's victor may be tomorrow's victim.
whirligig

A child spins a colorful whirligig on a wooden table.

Noun
  1. a large, rotating machine with seats for children to ride or amusement
  2. a conical child's plaything tapering to a steel point on which it can be made to spin
    • he got a bright red top and string for his birthday
Verb
  1. whirl or spin like a whirligig

Từ đồng nghĩa

Từ chứa "whirligig"

Từ có nhắc đến "whirligig"