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   spin

   /spɪn/

   verb

   • 1. turn or cause to turn or whirl round quickly: "the girl spun round in alarm" Similar revolverotateturnturn roundgo roundwhirlgyratecirclewhirlwheeltwirlturnswingtwistswivelpirouettepivotswirlbirl
   • ▪ (of a person's head) give a sensation of dizziness: "the figures were enough to make her head spin" Similar reelgo roundwhirlbe in a whirlswimbe giddybe dizzy
   • ▪ toss (a coin).
   • ▪ (with reference to a ball) move or cause to move through the air with a revolving motion: "the ball spun in viciously"
   • ▪ spin-dry (clothes).
   • ▪ play (a record): "a DJ spins hits from the sixties"
   • ▪ shape (sheet metal) by pressure applied during rotation on a lathe: "spun metal components"
   • 2. draw out and twist (the fibres of wool, cotton, or other material) to convert them into yarn, either by hand or with machinery: "an old lady sat, spinning thread"
   • ▪ make (threads) by drawing out and twisting fibres of wool, cotton, or other material: "this method is used to spin filaments from syrups"
   • ▪ (of a spider or a silkworm or other insect) produce (gossamer or silk) or construct (a web or cocoon) by extruding a fine viscous thread from a special gland.
   • 3. give (a news story) a particular emphasis or bias: "ministers may now find it difficult to use the programme to spin stories in their favour"
   • 4. fish with a spinner: "they were spinning for salmon in the lake"

   noun

   • 1. a rapid turning or whirling motion: "he concluded the dance with a double spin" Similar rotationrevolutionturnwhirltwirlgyrationpirouetteswirlbirl
   • ▪ revolving motion imparted to a ball in a game, especially cricket, tennis, or snooker: "this racket enables the player to impart more spin to the ball"
   • ▪ an uncontrolled fast revolving descent of an aircraft, resulting from a stall: "he tried to stop the plane from going into a spin"
   • ▪ short for spinning trademark
   • ▪ the intrinsic angular momentum of a subatomic particle.
   • 2. a brief trip in a vehicle for pleasure: informal "a spin around town" Similar tripjauntoutingexcursionshort journeyexpeditionsallydriveriderunturnairinginformal:tootlejoyridehurl
   • 3. the presentation of information in a particular way; a slant, especially a favourable one: "officials put a positive spin on the report" Similar slantangletwistbias
   • 4. a piece of good or bad luck: informal Australian, New Zealand "Kevin had had a rough spin"

   Word Origin Old Englishspinnan ‘draw out and twist (fibre’); related to German spinnen. The noun dates from the mid 19th century.

   Scrabble Points: 6

   • S

     1

   • P

     3

   • I

     1

   • N

     1

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