gyre

/dʒaɪr/
noun
  1. A circular or spiral motion or form, especially a large system of rotating ocean currents.
    • Satellite images show the massive gyre spinning slowly in the Atlantic.
    • The North Pacific gyre is famous for collecting plastic debris.
    • Sailors have long known to avoid the center of a powerful gyre.
  2. A ring or circle; something that whirls or revolves.
    • A gyre of dust rose from the dry field as the wind picked up.
    • The hawk traced a gyre high above the meadow.
    • The dancers formed a gyre on the floor, spinning in unison.
verb
  1. To move in a circle or spiral; to whirl or rotate.
    • The leaves gyre slowly as they fall from the tree.
    • We watched the hawk gyre above the canyon.
    • The water in the drain began to gyre faster and faster.
Synonyms