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 Lakers looked as though they were trudging through the swamp — they were slow to rebounds, late to rotations and, uncharacteristically, a mess on offense.

From Los Angeles Times

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

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

Following a benching Wednesday in a loss to Memphis, Redick moved point guard D’Angelo Russell to the second unit in favor of Cam Reddish, who wasn’t even in the rotation three games ago.

From Los Angeles Times

In the defensive line rotation, Tart has 11 tackles, an interception and a blocked field goal.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• orbit