spin Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a swift whirling motion (usually of a missile)
noun the act of rotating rapidly
twist; whirl; twisting; twirl.
- he gave the crank a spin
- it broke off after much twisting
noun a short drive in a car
- he took the new car for a spin
noun rapid descent of an aircraft in a steep spiral
tailspin.
noun a distinctive interpretation (especially as used by politicians to sway public opinion)
- the campaign put a favorable spin on the story
verb revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis
reel; whirl; gyrate; spin around.
- The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy
verb stream in jets, of liquids
- The creek spun its course through the woods
verb cause to spin
whirl; birl; twirl.
- spin a coin
verb make up a story
- spin a yarn
verb form a web by making a thread
- spiders spin a fine web
verb work natural fibers into a thread
- spin silk
verb twist and turn so as to give an intended interpretation
- The President's spokesmen had to spin the story to make it less embarrassing
verb prolong or extend
spin out.
- spin out a visit

AS. spinnan; akin to D. & G. spinnen, Icel. & Sw. spinna, Dan. spinde, Goth. spinnan, and probably to E. span. Cf. Span, v. t., Spider.

imperfect & past participle Spun (archaic imperfect Span ); present participle & verbal noun Spinning

To draw out, and twist into threads, either by the hand or machinery; as, to spin wool, cotton, or flax; to spin goat's hair; to produce by drawing out and twisting a fibrous material.
All the yarn she [Penelope] spun in Ulysses' absence did but fill Ithaca full of moths. Shak.
To draw out tediously; to form by a slow process, or by degrees; to extend to a great length; -- with out; as, to spin out large volumes on a subject.
Do you mean that story is tediously spun out? Sheridan.
To protract; to spend by delays; as, to spin out the day in idleness.
By one delay after another they spin out their whole lives. L'Estrange.
To cause to turn round rapidly; to whirl; to twirl; as, to spin a top.
To form (a web, a cocoon, silk, or the like) from threads produced by the extrusion of a viscid, transparent liquid, which hardens on coming into contact with the air; -- said of the spider, the silkworm, etc.
(Mech.) To shape, as malleable sheet metal, into a hollow form, by bending or buckling it by pressing against it with a smooth hand tool or roller while the metal revolves, as in a lathe.

To practice spinning; to work at drawing and twisting threads; to make yarn or thread from fiber; as, the woman knows how to spin; a machine or jenny spins with great exactness.
They neither know to spin, nor care to toll. Prior.
To move round rapidly; to whirl; to revolve, as a top or a spindle, about its axis.
Round about him spun the landscape, Sky and forest reeled together. Longfellow.

With a whirligig of jubilant mosquitoes spinning about each head. G. W. Cable.
To stream or issue in a thread or a small current or jet; as, blood spinsfrom a vein. Shak.
To move swifty; as, to spin along the road in a carriage, on a bicycle, etc. Colloq.