rotation

[ roh-tey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of rotating; a turning around as on an axis.
2. Astronomy.
   1. the movement or path of the earth or a heavenly body turning on its axis.
   2. one complete turn of such a body.
3. regularly recurring succession, as of officials.
4. Agriculture. crop rotation.
5. Mathematics.
   1. an operation that rotates rotate a geometric figure about a fixed point.
   2. curl ( def 14 ).
6. Pool. a game in which the balls are played in order by number.
7. Baseball. pitching rotation.

rotation

/ rəʊˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of rotating; rotary motion
2. a regular cycle of events in a set order or sequence
3. a planned sequence of cropping according to which the crops grown in successive seasons on the same land are varied so as to make a balanced demand on its resources of fertility
4. maths
   1. a circular motion of a configuration about a given point or line, without a change in shape
   2. a transformation in which the coordinate axes are rotated by a fixed angle about the origin
   3. another name for curl Abbreviation (for sense 4c)rot
5. 1. the spinning motion of a body, such as a planet, about an internal axis Compare revolution
   2. one complete turn in such motion

rotation

/ rō-tā′shən /

1. The motion of an object around an internal axis.
2. A single complete cycle of such motion.
3. See Note at revolution
4. A transformation of a coordinate system in which the new axes have a specified angular displacement from their original position while the origin remains fixed.

Derived Forms

• roˈtational, adjective

Other Words From

• ro·tation·al adjective
• nonro·tation noun
• nonro·tation·al adjective
• unro·tation·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rotation¹

1545–55; < Latin rotātiōn- (stem of rotātiō ) a rotation, rolling, equivalent to rotāt ( us ) ( rotate ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

The exact moment of the winter solstice varies from year to year due to a slight misalignment between the Gregorian calendar and the actual rate of the Earth’s rotation around the Sun, but it usually falls on 21 or 22 December.

From BBC

Bosa has been eased into the rotation over the last three games, with limited snaps.

From Los Angeles Times

With a cornerback rotation that’s stripped to a pair of rookies in the starting rotation, however, they gave up a 41-yard touchdown pass from Will Levis to Calvin Ridley on the Titans’ opening drive Sunday.

From Los Angeles Times

It makes Sasaki a dream target for the Dodgers; a gifted, young, cost-controlled arm to reinforce — if not drastically improve — their starting rotation.

From Los Angeles Times

Shohei Ohtani’s chances of being in the Dodgers’ opening-day rotation narrowed because of the surgery on his torn labrum.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• orbit