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Rotation vs Spin - What's the difference?

rotation | spin |

As nouns the difference between rotation and spin

is that rotation is the act of turning around a centre or an axis while spin is circular motion.

As a verb spin is

to rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.

As an adjective spin is

describing a spin bowler, or his style of bowling.

rotation

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (chiefly, uncountable) The act of turning around a centre or an axis.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-03
  • , author=Frank Fish, George Lauder , title=Not Just Going with the Flow , volume=101, issue=2, page=114 , magazine= citation , passage=An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex . The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.}}
    The earth's rotation about its axis is responsible for its being slightly oblate rather than a sphere.
  • A single complete cycle around a centre or an axis.
  • Earth's moon completes a rotation every twenty-seven days or so.
  • A regular variation in a sequence.
  • crop rotation
    The medical resident finished a two-week rotation in pediatrics and began one in orthopaedics.
  • (mathematics) An operation that a continuous isometry deformation that fixes at least one point can result in.
  • The function mapping (''x'',''y'') to (''&
  • x2212;y'',''x'') is a rotation .
  • (baseball) The set of (soplink) of a team.
  • (aviation) The step during takeoff when the pilot commands the vehicle to lift the nose wheel off the ground during the takeoff roll.
  • spin

    English

    Verb

  • (ergative) To rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.
  • I spun myself around a few times.
    Spin the ball on the floor.
    The Earth spins with a period of one day.
    She spun around and gave him a big smile.
  • * Longfellow
  • Round about him spun the landscape, / Sky and forest reeled together.
  • To make yarn by twisting and winding fibers together.
  • They spin the cotton into thread.
  • * Prior
  • They neither know to spin , nor care to toil.
  • To present, describe, or interpret, or to introduce a bias or slant so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2006, date=February 9, title=The Politics of Science, work=The Washington Post citation
  • , passage=In every administration there will be spokesmen and public affairs officers who try to spin' the news to make the president look good. But this administration is trying to ' spin scientific data and muzzle scientists toward that end.}}
  • (cricket, of a bowler) To make the ball move sideways when it bounces on the pitch.
  • (cricket, of a ball) To move sideways when bouncing.
  • (cooking) To form into thin strips or ribbons, as with sugar
  • To form (a web, a cocoon, silk, etc.) from threads produced by the extrusion of a viscid, transparent liquid, which hardens on coming into contact with the air; said of the spider, the silkworm, etc.
  • To shape, as malleable sheet metal, into a hollow form, by bending or buckling it by pressing against it with a smooth hand tool or roller while the metal revolves, as in a lathe.
  • To move swiftly.
  • to spin along the road in a carriage, on a bicycle, etc.
  • To stream or issue in a thread or a small current or jet.
  • Blood spins from a vein.
    (Shakespeare)
  • To twist (hay) into ropes for convenient carriage on an expedition.
  • (computing, programming, intransitive) To wait in a loop until some condition becomes true.
  • Synonyms

    * (give something a favorable appearance) whitewash, sugarcoat, put lipstick on, gild, blandish, dress up

    Hypernyms

    * revolve * rotate * turn

    Derived terms

    * respin * spin one's wheels * spin out * spinster

    See also

    * turn around

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Circular motion.
  • The car went into a spin .
    The skaters demonstrated their spins .
    ''He put some spin on the cue ball.
    One of the planet's moons has a slower spin than the others.
  • (physics) A quantum angular momentum associated with subatomic particles, which also creates a magnetic moment.
  • A favourable comment or interpretation intended to bias opinion on an otherwise unpleasant situation.
  • (sports) Rotation of the ball as it flies through the air; sideways movement of the ball as it bounces.
  • A condition of flight where a stalled aircraft is simultaneously pitching, yawing and rolling in a spinning motion.
  • A brief trip by vehicle.
  • A bundle of spun material; a mass of strands and filaments.
  • * 1913 , DH Lawrence,
  • She left him alone, and went to get Annie a spin of toffee.

    Derived terms

    * backspin * Biellmann spin * camel spin * layback spin * media spin * parallel spin * sidespin * sit spin * spin doctor * take for a spin * topspin * upright spin

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (cricket) Describing a spin bowler, or his style of bowling.