swirl

swirl¹ [swə:l US swə:rl] v

1.) [I and T]

to move around quickly in a twisting circular movement, or to make something do this

swirl around/round

▪ Smoke swirled around her.

swirl sth around/round

▪ He swirled the brandy around in his glass.

▪ The river had become a swirling torrent.

2.)

if stories or ideas swirl around a place, a lot of people start to talk about them - used especially in news reports

swirl around

▪ Rumours of a takeover began to swirl around the stock markets.

swirl ²

swirl² [i]n

[Date: 1400-1500; Origin: Probably from the sound of water going around]

1.) a swirling movement or amount of something

swirl of

▪ a swirl of dust

2.) a twisting circular pattern