- a movement of something turning round and round
- a whirl of dust
- (figurative) Her mind was in a whirl (= in a state of confusion or excitement).
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- dizzying
- giddy
- mad
- …
- in a whirl
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- a number of activities or events happening one after the other
- Her life was one long whirl of parties.
- It's easy to get caught up in the social whirl.
- The next few hours passed by in a whirl of activity.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- dizzying
- giddy
- mad
- …
- in a whirl
Word OriginMiddle English: the verb probably from Old Norse hvirfla ‘turn about’; the noun partly from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch wervel ‘spindle’, or from Old Norse hvirfill ‘circle’, from a Germanic base meaning ‘rotate’.
Idioms
See whirl in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarygive something a whirl
- (informal) to try something to see if you like it or can do it
- I’m not sure I’ll like skiing, but I’ll give it a whirl.
Check pronunciation:
whirl