rotate
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rotate
- /ɹəʊˈteɪt/ UK
- /ɹəˈteɪt/ UK
- /ˈɹoʊ.teɪt/ US
- /roˈʈeʈ/ India, North
- [ɾoː.ʈeːʈ] India, North
- /rɵˈʈeʈ/ India, South
- [ɾö.ʈeːʈ] India, South
Rhymes with -eɪt
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Latin rotātus, perfect passive participle of rotō (“revolve”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from rota (“wheel”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).
verb rotates · rotating · rotated · rotate
- To spin, turn, or revolve. He rotated in his chair to face me.
- To advance through a sequence; to take turns. The nurses' shifts rotate each week.
- To lift the nose during takeoff, just prior to liftoff. The aircraft rotates at sixty knots.
- To spin, turn, or revolve something. Rotate the dial to the left.
- To advance something through a sequence; to allocate or deploy in turns. I've always admired the Japanese point of view that holds it best not to have a great number of objects around at one time but to rotate possessions — and display them with great simplicity.
- To replace older materials or to place older materials in front of newer ones so that older ones get used first. The supermarket rotates the stock daily so that old foods don't sit around.
- To grow or plant (crops) in a certain order.
Similar: revolve, circumvolve
adjective
- Having the parts spreading out like a wheel; wheel-shaped. a rotate spicule or scale; a rotate corolla
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: go around, revolve, rotation, rotational, slue, turn, tilt, spinning, counterclockwise, flip, turning, swing, twist, move, rev, run
verb
Similar: revolve, circumvolve
Translations
Every language
verb to spin, turn, or revolve
| Español | girar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 回る mawaru |
| 中文 | 旋转, 转动 |
| Português | rotar, girar, rotacionar, rodar |
| Français | tourner, rotationner, rotater |
| Deutsch | sich drehen, rotieren |
| Italiano | ruotare |
| Ελληνικά | περιστρέφομαι peristréfomai |
| Română | roti |
| Русский | враща́ться vraščátʹsja, верте́ться vertétʹsja, крути́ться krutítʹsja |
verb to advance through a sequence; to take turns
| 中文 | 轮换 lúnhuàn, 轮流 lúnliú |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | εναλλάσσομαι enallássomai |
verb to change which tire is on each corner of the car, so that they wear evenly
| Français | intervertir, permuter |
|---|
verb to spin, turn, or revolve something
| 日本語 | 回る mawaru |
|---|---|
| Português | rotar, girar, rotacionar, rodar |
| Français | faire tourner |
| Ελληνικά | περιστρέφω peristréfo |
| Русский | враща́ть vraščátʹ, верте́ть vertétʹ, крути́ть krutítʹ |
| العربية | أَدَارَ ʔadāra |
adj wheel-shaped
| 中文 | 輪狀 /轮状 lúnzhuàng |
|---|
Talk about this word "rotate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rotate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. rotate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rotate "rotate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rotate.Cite this
@misc{rotate_2026,
title = {rotate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rotate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
