spin

Formsspins, spinning, spun

Pluralspins

1. 1
   verbtransitive or intransitive

   To rotate or revolve quickly, turn to face another direction, or turn out of control after losing grip.

   Figure skaters spin rapidly by pulling their arms close to their bodies.

   The dancer spun on one foot before taking a bow.

   UsagePast and past participle spun: she spun around (not incorrect: spinned). Often spin around or spin round.

   Similarrotate, turn, twirl, whirl, revolve

   Note

   The turning sense works both ways: you can spin a ball, or simply spin around, as the landscape does in Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha (1855), where 'round about him spun the landscape.' Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote The Song of Hiawatha, first published in 1855. en.wikisource.org
   • The poem contains the quoted description of the landscape spinning. gutenberg.org
2. 2
   new versionnouncountable or uncountable

   A fresh, inventive take on something that already exists; a twist.

   The remake adds a clever spin that the original never imagined.

   Their menu puts an unexpected spin on traditional street food.

   UsageUsually a new or modern spin on something: put a fresh spin on an old dish.

   Similartwist, take, angle, slant

   Note

   The noun can be plural, as when Michael Bronski in Gay Community News (1991) writes of 'new spins on queer bashing.' The same construction also serves the slanted, favorable comment. Context tells them apart: here the variation is creative, not self-serving. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Michael Bronski's article appeared in Gay Community News in 1991. manifold.umn.edu
   • Bronski used the exact phrase 'new spins on queer bashing.' en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   rotationnouncountable or uncountable

   Rapid circular movement around a central point.

   The fan's spin slowed to a stop once the power was cut.

   As the top's spin slowly weakened, it began to wobble and finally tipped over onto the table.

   UsageA car out of control goes into a spin. Skaters do spins, separate turning moves.

   Similarrotation, revolution, whirl, twirl

4. 4
   make yarnverbtransitive

   To draw out and twist fibers into a continuous strand of yarn, winding it as it forms.

   Villagers spin raw fleece into yarn during the long winter months.

   She spun the flax into fine linen thread for the loom.

   UsageOften spin a fiber into something: spin wool into yarn.

   Note

   The textile craft draws out fibers such as wool, cotton or flax and twists them, traditionally on a spindle or spinning wheel. The twist is what binds the loose fibers into a strong thread. Matthew Prior (1718) uses it with no object at all, of flowers that 'neither know to spin, nor care to toil.' Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Spinning draws out and twists fibers including wool, cotton and flax, traditionally using a spindle or spinning wheel. ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org
   • Twisting binds the fibers into strong thread. ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org
   • The cited Prior poem appeared in the edition dated 1718 on its title page. eighteenthcenturypoetry.org
   • Matthew Prior uses the quoted wording about flowers, with no object after 'spin', in Solomon on the Vanity of the World, Book I. eighteenthcenturypoetry.org
5. 5
   nounfigurativelycountable or uncountable

   A favorable interpretation or comment meant to sway opinion about an otherwise unpleasant situation.

   The campaign's spin couldn't hide how badly the polls had fallen.

   Reporters quickly cut through the official spin on the failed deal.

   UsageOften without a: rely on spin, see through the spin. Set phrase: put a positive spin on bad news.

   Similargloss, propaganda, slant

   Note

   It sits just short of lying, and speakers guard that line. Paul Stephen's 'Network News' (2022) quotes the complaint: 'We've always had spin… But this is not spin. This is dishonesty.' Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Paul Stephen’s 2022 RAIL article headed “Network News” contains the cited complaint. en.wiktionary.org
   • The quotation accurately excerpts the complaint, with the ellipsis omitting “especially from Government.” en.wiktionary.org
6. 6
   verbfigurativelytransitive

   To present or interpret information with a bias that makes something seem more favorable or advantageous than it is.

   The press office spun the scandal into a story about reform.

   Aides spin every setback so the candidate appears competent.

   UsageOften spin something as something: spin the layoffs as a fresh start.

   Similarsugarcoat, whitewash, gild

   Note

   The verb takes two kinds of object. You can spin what already exists, such as the news or scientific data, as The Washington Post complained in 2006. You can also spin something new into being, as in spinning a counternarrative. Its neighbors whitewash and sugarcoat suggest hiding or sweetening. Spin works by framing, and it carries the same disapproval as the noun for slanted comment. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • A 2006 Washington Post editorial criticized spinning the news and scientific data. en.wiktionary.org
   • The editorial discusses spinning news to favor the president. en.wiktionary.org
   • The editorial criticizes spinning scientific data. washingtonpost.com
7. 7
   nouncolloquialcountable

   A quick test of something new, to learn what it is like or how well it performs, as in give it a spin.

   Reviewers took the early version of the software for a spin and found several bugs.

   Our test kitchen gave the new air fryer a spin with a batch of chicken wings.

   UsageSet phrases: give something a spin, take it for a spin.

   Similartry, whirl, test, trial

8. 8
   verbtransitive

   To narrate or concoct a tale, especially a lengthy, elaborate, or fictitious one.

   The con man spun an elaborate story about a sick relative to get money from strangers.

   Few writers spin a family saga as gripping as her latest novel.

   UsageUsual objects: spin a story, spin a tale, spin a yarn, spin a web of lies.

   Similarweave, concoct, tell, invent

   Note

   The metaphor comes from making yarn: a storyteller draws a tale out the way a spinner draws thread. Spin a yarn joins the two, since yarn itself came to mean a long, rambling story, a usage associated with sailors. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The storytelling expression uses a metaphor from spinning fibres into yarn or thread. en.wiktionary.org
   • Yarn acquired a figurative meaning referring to a long story. gutenberg.org
   • The storytelling usage was associated with sailors, as documented in a historical nautical word-book. gutenberg.org
9. 9
   make silkverbtransitive

   Of a spider, silkworm, or similar creature, to produce silk thread, or to make a web or cocoon from it.

   Garden spiders spin intricate webs overnight between the fence posts.

   The caterpillar spun a tight cocoon before transforming.

   Similarweave

10. 10
    a ball's rotationnouncountable or uncountable

    Rotation given to a ball when it is thrown, struck, or bowled, which affects its flight and the way it bounces.

    The batsman misjudged the spin and edged the ball to the keeper.

    The pitcher's curveball had so much spin that it dropped sharply just before it reached the plate.

    UsagePlayers put spin on the ball, usually with no a: put plenty of spin on it.

    Similarturn, break

    Note

    The noun names both what the bowler puts on the ball and what the ball then does. The rotation can bend the ball's path in flight and make it deviate sideways when it bounces off the pitch. The bowler's matching verb is making the ball turn. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • Rotation can bend the ball's path in flight and cause sideways deviation at the bounce, depending on the spin axis. physics.sydney.edu.au
11. 11
    bike workoutnoununcountable

    A session or class of exercise performed on a stationary bicycle, especially in a gym setting.

    He says an hour of spin at the gym before work wakes him up better than any cup of coffee.

    Before work she squeezed in a 45-minute spin at the gym, then showered and caught the early train.

    UsageOften a spin class, or just go to spin.

    Similarspinning

12. 12
    be a DJverbcolloquialtransitive

    To play vinyl records or other recordings as a disc jockey.

    He spins rare funk records at a small bar downtown.

    Local DJs spin vinyl all night during the summer festival.

    Similarplay

    Note

    This informal use reaches past the physical record to the music itself. CMJ New Music Report (2002) describes a DJ 'spinning his novel blend of progressive house and trance music,' with a genre as the object rather than a disc. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The cited issue of CMJ New Music Report was published in 2002. worldradiohistory.com
    • CMJ describes a DJ using the quoted wording; the passage concerns D:Fuse in Louis Miller's review of People, page 5. worldradiohistory.com
13. 13
    particle physicsnouncountable or uncountable

    A form of angular momentum intrinsic to subatomic particles.

    Electrons have a spin of one-half, which makes them fermions.

    The particle's spin couples strongly to the external magnetic field.

    Note

    Physics took the everyday word for a property that involves no actual turning. Spin is intrinsic to a particle, and its component along any axis is quantized in integer or half-integer multiples of the reduced Planck constant. It underlies a particle's magnetic moment, where it has one, and determines its statistics, which is why an electron's spin of one-half makes it a fermion. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

    • Physics adopted the everyday word spin for a property involving no actual rotation. spinquest.fnal.gov
    • Spin is intrinsic to a particle. labs.phys.utk.edu
    • The spin quantum number s is an integer or half-integer. The angular-momentum magnitude is √s(s+1)ℏ; its measured components are integer or half-integer multiples of ℏ. labs.phys.utk.edu
    • Spin underlies a particle's magnetic moment, when present. en.wikipedia.org
    • Spin determines whether a particle obeys bosonic or fermionic statistics. atlas-public.web.cern.ch
    • An electron has spin one-half and is consequently a fermion. energy.gov
14. 14
    confusionnouncountable or uncountable

    A condition in which someone is confused or has lost their bearings.

    The conflicting instructions sent the whole office into a spin.

    She was in such a spin that she forgot where she had parked.

    UsageUsually in a spin, or send someone into a spin.

    Similarpanic, tizzy, flap, state, dither

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