spin

spin¹ S3 [spın] v past tense and past participle spun [spʌn] present participle spinning

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1¦(turn around)¦

2 somebody's head is spinning

3¦(situation/information)¦

4 spin a tale/story/yarn

5¦(wool/cotton)¦

6¦(drive)¦

7 spin your wheels

8¦(wet clothes)¦

9¦(insect)¦

Phrasal verbs

　spin off

　spin out

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[: Old English; Origin: spinnan]

1.) ¦(TURN AROUND)¦ [I and T]

to turn around and around very quickly, or to make something do this

▪ The plane's propellers were spinning.

spin (sth/sb) around

▪ She grabbed Norm's arm and spun him around to face her.

2.) sb's head is spinning also the room is spinning

if your head or the room is spinning, you feel as if you might ↑faint (=become unconscious) because you are shocked, excited, or drunk

▪ I was pouring with sweat, and my head was spinning.

▪ The room started to spin.

3.) ¦(SITUATION/INFORMATION)¦ [T]

to describe a situation or information in a way that is intended to influence the way people think about it - used especially about what politicians or business people do

▪ Supporters attempted to spin the bill's defeat to their advantage.

4.) spin a tale/story/yarn

to tell a story, especially using a lot of imagination

▪ She spun a story about a trip to Athens to meet one of the authors.

5.) ¦(WOOL/COTTON)¦ [I and T]

to make cotton, wool etc into thread by twisting it

6.) ¦(DRIVE)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

written to drive or travel quickly

= ↑speed spin past/along etc

▪ Barbara spun past in her new sportscar.

7.) spin your wheels

AmE to continue trying to do something without having any success

▪ I felt like I was just spinning my wheels trying to make him understand.

8.) ¦(WET CLOTHES)¦ [T]

BrE to get water out of clothes using a machine after you have washed them

9.) ¦(INSECT)¦ [T]

if a ↑spider or insect spins a ↑web or ↑cocoon, it produces thread to make it

spin off phr v

to make part of a company into a separate and partly independent company, or to become a separate company

spin sth<=>off

▪ At the time of the merger, Loral spun off its space divisions into a separate firm.

spin off from

▪ Lucent spun off from AT&T in 1995.

→↑spin-off

spin out phr v

1.) spin sth<=>out

BrE to make something continue for longer than is necessary

= ↑drag out

▪ I'm paid by the hour, so I spin the work out as long as I can.

2.) spin sth<=>out

BrE to use money, food etc as carefully and slowly as possible, because you do not have very much of it

spin something<=>out over

▪ I've only got £10 left, so we'll have to spin it out over the whole week.

3.) AmE if a car spins out, the driver loses control of it and the car spins around

spin ²

spin² n

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1¦(turning)¦

2¦(car)¦

3¦(ball)¦

4¦(information)¦

5¦(aircraft)¦

6 in/into a (flat) spin

7¦(wet clothes)¦

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1.) ¦(TURNING)¦

an act of turning around quickly

▪ the Earth's spin

▪ The Russian skater finished her routine with a series of spins.

2.) ¦(CAR)¦ [singular] informal

a short trip in a car for pleasure

= ↑drive

▪ Let's go for a spin in the country.

▪ Do you want to take my car for a spin ?

3.) ¦(BALL)¦[U]

if you put spin on a ball in a game such as tennis or ↑cricket, you deliberately make the ball turn very quickly so that it is difficult for your opponent to hit

4.) ¦(INFORMATION)¦ [singular, U]

the way someone, especially a politician or business person, talks about information or a situation, especially in order to influence the way people think about it

▪ They tried to put a positive spin on the sales figures.

→↑spin doctor

5.) ¦(AIRCRAFT)¦ [singular]

if an aircraft goes into a spin, it falls suddenly, turning around and around

6.) in/into a (flat) spin

if you are in a spin, you are very confused and anxious

▪ The sudden fall on the stock-market sent brokers into a spin.

7.) ¦(WET CLOTHES)¦

give sth a spin

BrE to turn clothes around very fast in a machine to remove water from them