Whirligig

//ˈwɝ.lɪ.ɡɪɡ// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Anything that whirls or spins around, such as a toy top or a merry-go-round.
  2. 2
    a large, rotating machine with seats for children to ride on for amusement wordnet
  3. 3
    A device incorporating spinning, wind-driven propellers or pinwheels, used as whimsical outdoor decoration in a garden or on a porch.
  4. 4
    a conical child's plaything tapering to a steel point on which it can be made to spin wordnet
  5. 5
    Ellipsis of whirligig beetle. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    A device for punishing prisoners, comprising a wooden cage that rapidly spins around to induce nausea. historical
Verb
  1. 1
    whirl or spin like a whirligig wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
carouseltopapril showerscarouselcarrouselcentrifuge

Example

More examples

"About my conlang Vling, maybe I just like the word 'bog'. My other favourite English words are 'whirligig', 'tumbleweed', 'serendipity', 'gargoyle', 'jelly', 'storm', 'ambiance', 'steampunk', 'logogram', 'gazebo', and 'thistle'."

Etymology

From Middle English whyrlegygge; equivalent to whirl (noun or verb) + gig (“a top”).

Related phrases

whirligig beetlewhirligig of timemerry go roundwhirligig beetleyo yo

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.