spin

[[t]spɪn[/t]]

v. spun, spin•ning, n.

1) tex to make (yarn) by drawing out, twisting, and winding fibers

2) tex to form (the fibers of any material) into thread or yarn

3) anb to produce (a thread, web, cocoon, etc.) by extruding from the body a viscous filament that hardens in the air

4) to cause to rotate rapidly; twirl; whirl:

to spin a coin on a table[/ex]

5) to produce, fabricate, or evolve in a manner suggestive of spinning thread:

to spin a tale[/ex]

6) to draw out, protract, or prolong (often fol. by out):

She spun the project out for over three years[/ex]

7) cvb sl. to cause to have a particular bias; influence in a certain direction:

His assignment was to spin the reporters after the president's speech[/ex]

8) to revolve or rotate rapidly, as the earth or a top

9) to produce a thread from the body, as a spider or silkworm

10) tex to produce yarn or thread by spinning

11) to move or travel rapidly

12) to have a sensation of whirling; reel:

My head began to spin[/ex]

13) spo to fish with a spinning or revolving bait

14) phv spin off

to create or derive, based on something already existing:

They took the character of the uncle and spun off another TV series[/ex]

15) the act of causing a spinning or whirling motion

16) cvb a spinning motion or movement

17) a downward movement or trend, esp. one that is sudden, alarming, etc

18) a short ride or drive for pleasure

19) gov sl. a particular viewpoint or bias, esp. in the media; slant:

They tried to put a favorable spin on the news coverage of the controversial speech[/ex]

20) aer.

Also called tailspin the descent of an aircraft, nose-down, in a helical path.

21) phs Physics. the intrinsic angular momentum characterizing each kind of elementary particle, having one of the values 0, ½, 1, 3/2, … when measured in units of Planck's constant divided by 2π

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- spin one's wheels

Etymology: bef. 900; ME; OE spinnan, c. OFris, ON spinna, MLG, OHG spinnen, Go spinnan syn: See turn