whirl in WordNet English dictionary

1. cause to spin
   "spin a coin"
   whirl  birl  spin  twirl 
   
2. flow in a circular current, of liquids
   eddy  purl  whirlpool  swirl  whirl 
   
3. revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis
   "The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy"
   spin  spin around  whirl  reel  gyrate 
   
4. turn in a twisting or spinning motion
   "The leaves swirled in the autumn wind"
   twirl  swirl  twiddle  whirl 
   
5. fly around
   "The clothes tumbled in the dryer"; "rising smoke whirled in the air"
   whirl  tumble  whirl around 
   

1. confused movement
   "he was caught up in a whirl of work"; "a commotion of people fought for the exits"
   whirl  commotion 
   
2. the shape of something rotating rapidly
   whirl  swirl  vortex  convolution 
   
3. a usually brief attempt
   "he took a crack at it"; "I gave it a whirl"
   crack  fling  go  pass  whirl  offer 
   
4. the act of rotating rapidly
   "he gave the crank a spin"; "it broke off after much twisting"
   spin  twirl  twist  twisting  whirl