whorl
/wɔrl/
verb
- To move or form into a spiral or circular shape.
- Smoke whorled upward from the chimney into the night sky.
- Leaves whorled in the wind before settling on the ground.
- The dancer's skirt whorled around her as she spun.
noun
- A spiral or circular pattern, such as the lines on a fingerprint or the shape of a seashell.
- The detective examined the whorl on the suspect's thumbprint.
- She drew a whorl in her notebook, practicing her calligraphy.
- The nautilus shell has a beautiful whorl that expands as it grows.
- A ring of leaves, petals, or other parts that grow from a stem at the same level.
- A whorl of tiny flowers appeared at the top of the stalk.
- The plant's leaves grow in a whorl around the stem every few inches.
- Botanists counted the number of petals in each whorl of the flower.