rotate
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause to turn around an axis or center point; revolve.
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to cause to go through a cycle of changes; cause to pass or follow in a fixed routine of succession.
to rotate farm crops.
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to replace (a person, troops, etc.) by another or others, usually according to a schedule or plan.
verb (used without object)
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to turn around on or as if on an axis.
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to proceed in a fixed routine of succession.
The sentries rotated in keeping watch.
adjective
verb
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to turn or cause to turn around an axis, line, or point; revolve or spin
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to follow or cause to follow a set order or sequence
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(of a position, presidency, etc) to pass in turn from one eligible party to each of the other eligible parties
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(of staff) to replace or be replaced in turn
adjective
Synonym Usage
See turn.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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unrotatedadjective
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unrotatingadjective
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rotatableadjective
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nonrotatingadjective
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rotatablyadverb
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nonrotatableadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have rotatedperfect
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has rotatedperfect 3rd person singular
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is rotatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are rotatingprogressive
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rotatingparticiple
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have been rotatingperfect progressive
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has been rotatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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rotatessingular 3rd person
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am rotatingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had rotatedperfect
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rotatedparticiple
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were rotatingprogressive plural
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had been rotatingperfect progressive
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rotatedsimple
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was rotatingprogressive singular
Future
Etymology
Origin of rotate1
First recorded in 1800–10; from Latin rotātus (past participle of rotāre “to cause to spin, roll, move in a circle”), equivalent to rot(a) “wheel” + -ātus -ate 1
Origin of rotate2
1775–85; < Latin rot ( a ) wheel + -ate 1
Explanation
Rotate means to circle around a center point. Wheels on a car rotate, planets rotate, and if you're an ice skater, you rotate on the blade of a skate when you do your spins. Rotate can also mean that you take turns performing a job. If you, Jim, and Shelia all got the same amount of votes in the class election, you could rotate the role of treasurer, meaning the position would pass from one to another in a regular pattern. Rotate can also refer to other things that are passed along in a regular order. You might rotate lawn duties with your brother — that means you mow the lawn one week and he mows it the next.
Vocabulary lists containing rotate
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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Earth and the Solar System - Introductory
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Fish in a Tree
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“A lot of these types of businesses will catch a bid as people rotate out of tech and try to find something else that can deliver high-single digit or low-double digit returns,” he tells Barron’s.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
Investors may rotate out of other stocks to pile into SpaceX, then do more reshuffling to make bets on OpenAI and Anthropic later this year or next.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
On Saturday, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the plan to rotate US and UK nuclear-powered submarines through Australia was "still on track", with the first US navy personnel due to arrive later this year.
From BBC • May 30, 2026
More than a century ago, Albert Einstein and Wander Johannes de Haas demonstrated that changing the magnetization of a material could physically cause it to rotate.
From Science Daily • May 24, 2026
Many freelancers rotate in these weekly assignments, and we probably won’t see them again this summer.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
