rotation

American  

[roh-tey-shuhn] / roʊˈteɪ ʃən /

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.

6. Pool. a game in which the balls are played in order by number.

7. Baseball. pitching rotation.

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rotation British  

/ 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. Abbreviation (for sense 4c): rot.  another name for curl

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

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rotation Scientific  

/ 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.

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Other Word Forms

• nonrotation noun
• nonrotational adjective
• rotational adjective
• unrotational adjective

Etymology

Origin of rotation

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

Example Sentences

United's relative lack of games - they are currently in a stretch of 23 days without one - means rotation is a choice rather than a necessity.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

These results suggest that simplifying food choices, such as relying on a set rotation of meals and keeping calorie intake steady, may help people develop habits that are easier to maintain.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

She was still in that ICU when my rotation ended.

From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026

But because he needed a ball-handler he could trust after the regular rotation got wonky in the second quarter of the Lakers’ 116-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2026

In these, the region would stop collapsing because individual parts of the galaxy would be orbiting stably round its center, but the galaxy would have no overall rotation.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

Related Words

• orbit