whirl around

whirl around

1. To turn in the opposite direction very quickly or suddenly. I whirled around when I heard someone say my name, but there was no one there. The police car whirled around on the road and began blaring its siren.
2. To cause or force someone or something to turn or move in the opposite direction very quickly or suddenly. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "whirl" and "around." I whirled around the television to access the AV inputs on the back. She whirled the child around and started performing the Heimlich maneuver on him.
3. To cause or force someone or something to spin in circles very quickly. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "whirl" and "around." A small motor inside whirls around the top part of the toy. In this game, you put on a blindfold while someone whirls you around, then you try to pin the tail on a picture of a donkey on the other side of the room.
See also: around, whirl
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

whirl someone or something around

to turn someone or something around quickly. I grabbed him by the shoulder and whirled him around to face me. I whirled around the book display and found what I wanted.
See also: around, whirl

whirl around

to turn around very quickly. I tapped him on the shoulder and he whirled around to see who it was. Todd whirled around and grabbed Max by the wrists.
See also: around, whirl
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • sway from side to side
  • sway (from) side to side
  • (not) care a toss
  • sway to and fro
  • sway back and forth
  • the other way around
  • the other way around/round
  • backward and forward
  • backward(s) and forward(s)
  • about-turn
References in periodicals archive
Our Earthly Pleasures is one of those albums that you can just chill out to, or you can dance, whirl around and feel good in yourself.
music: MAXIMO PARK Our Earthly Pleasures (Warp)
The lives of seven men who loved--or at least liked--her whirl around Pieternella.
Dan Sleigh. Islands
He never saw me, but you couldn't miss Emlyn - he'd whirl around like something demented.
Letter: Hughes's boyish zest for life; Owner John Endersby on a defeat he didn't begrudge
Homemovie-like shots of a bedroom whirl around the myriad voiced-over questions of a bisexual/Hispanic/Jewish woman.
I Look Up at the Sky Now
The great speed with which these centrally located stars whirl around provides the best evidence to date for the existence of an extremely dense and massive object--a supermassive black hole--right in the bull's-eye of the galaxy.
Mystery in the middle: a stellar riddle turns up at the Milky Way's core
Monday sees her in concert at Southport Theatre - the final date of another whirl around the Britain.
24Seven: Barbara Dickson
Little angels spin and whirl around the Music and Movement dancefloorPictures / NEIL PUGH The Three Kings look regally on while teacher Helen Battelley (right) plays a lion A little girl patiently waits for her turn on stage A proud parent captures the magic on video
Let the children dance; Mel Hunter dusts off her dancing shoes and joins dozens of energetic youngsters
Few balloonists have risked a whirl around the globe.
Up, up and around the world
But as the wild winds of change whirl around us, we find ourselves seeking something solid to grasp, a foothold that won't crumble, a reliable source of information, direction, and support to help us understand and adapt to those changes.
Once upon a century: a magazine for the ages
You'll have a chance to join in the fun as parents take their babies for a whirl around St Ann's Square.
SQUARES
Inside the glowing gas cocoon, two white dwarfs whirl around each other every 1.2 days.
Explaining cosmic butterflies
After a whirl around the rink, the winning family can swap their skates for a 4D Christmas adventure with Santa on Life's new 4D Motion Ride, Sleigh Ride (minimum height requirement: 1.2m/4ft), and a planetarium trip to explore the night sky 2,000 years ago in festive show Christmas Star.
COMPETITION: WIN a festive day out with Metro
Before the merger, as the two black holes whirl around each other, they stir the galactic center like the blade of a blender.
How merging black holes go on a rampage of star-eating
Hunter has enjoyed a whirl around the British panel show merry-go-round on the likes of Have I Got News For You and 8 Out of 10 Cats but he says those shows are for "gag merchants like Jimmy Carr" and not really suited to considered and contextualised comedy.
Straight talker