Spin

8 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Spin \Spin\ (sp[i^]n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Spun}(Archaic imp.
     {Span}); p. pr. & vb. n. {Spinning}.] [AS. spinnan; akin to
     D. & G. spinnen, Icel. & Sw. spinna, Dan. spinde, Goth.
     spinnan, and probably to E. span. [root]170. Cf. {Span}, v.
     t., {Spider}.]
     1. To draw out, and twist into threads, either by the hand or


        machinery; as, to spin wool, cotton, or flax; to spin
        goat's hair; to produce by drawing out and twisting a
        fibrous material.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              All the yarn she [Penelope] spun in Ulysses' absence
              did but fill Ithaca full of moths.    --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To draw out tediously; to form by a slow process, or by
        degrees; to extend to a great length; -- with out; as, to
        spin out large volumes on a subject.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Do you mean that story is tediously spun out?
                                                    --Sheridan.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To protract; to spend by delays; as, to spin out the day
        in idleness.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              By one delay after another they spin out their whole
              lives.                                --L'Estrange.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. To cause to turn round rapidly; to whirl; to twirl; as, to
        spin a top.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. To form (a web, a cocoon, silk, or the like) from threads
        produced by the extrusion of a viscid, transparent liquid,
        which hardens on coming into contact with the air; -- said
        of the spider, the silkworm, etc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. (Mech.) To shape, as malleable sheet metal, into a hollow
        form, by bending or buckling it by pressing against it
        with a smooth hand tool or roller while the metal
        revolves, as in a lathe.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {To spin a yarn} (Naut.), to tell a story, esp. a long or
        fabulous tale.
  
     {To spin hay} (Mil.), to twist it into ropes for convenient
        carriage on an expedition.
  
     {To spin street yarn}, to gad about gossiping. [Collog.]
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Spin \Spin\, v. i.
     1. To practice spinning; to work at drawing and twisting
        threads; to make yarn or thread from fiber; as, the woman
        knows how to spin; a machine or jenny spins with great
        exactness.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              They neither know to spin, nor care to toll.
                                                    --Prior.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To move round rapidly; to whirl; to revolve, as a top or a
        spindle, about its axis.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Round about him spun the landscape,
              Sky and forest reeled together.       --Longfellow.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              With a whirligig of jubilant mosquitoes spinning
              about each head.                      --G. W. Cable.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To stream or issue in a thread or a small current or jet;
        as, blood spinsfrom a vein. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. To move swifty; as, to spin along the road in a carriage,
        on a bicycle, etc. [Colloq.]
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Spin \Spin\, n.
     1. The act of spinning; as, the spin of a top; a spin a
        bicycle. [Colloq.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Kinematics) Velocity of rotation about some specified
        axis.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Politics) an interpretation of an event which is
        favorable to the interpreter or to the person s/he
        supports. A person whose task is to provide such
        interpretations for public relations purposes is called a
        {spin doctor}.
        [PJC]
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  spin
       n 1: a swift whirling motion (usually of a missile)
       2: the act of rotating rapidly; "he gave the crank a spin"; "it
          broke off after much twisting" [syn: {twirl}, {twist}, {twisting},
           {whirl}]
       3: a short drive in a car; "he took the new car for a spin"
       4: rapid descent of an aircraft in a steep spiral [syn: {tailspin}]
       5: a distinctive interpretation (especially as used by
          politicians to sway public opinion); "the campaign put a
          favorable spin on the story"
       v 1: revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis; "The
            dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy"
            [syn: {spin around}, {whirl}, {reel}, {gyrate}]
       2: stream in jets, of liquids; "The creek spun its course
          through the woods"
       3: cause to spin; "spin a coin" [syn: {whirl}, {birl}, {twirl}]
       4: make up a story; "spin a yarn"
       5: form a web by making a thread; "spiders spin a fine web"
       6: work natural fibers into a thread; "spin silk"
       7: twist and turn so as to give an intended interpretation;
          "The President's spokesmen had to spin the story to make
          it less embarrasing"
       8: prolong or extend; "spin out a visit" [syn: {spin out}]
       [also: {spun}, {spinning}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  215 Moby Thesaurus words for "spin":
     Charybdis, Sunday drive, advance, airing, angle, angular momentum,
     angular motion, angular velocity, ascend, axial motion, back,
     back up, bait the hook, bank, bob, bowling, budge, centrifugate,
     centrifugation, centrifuge, change, change place, circle,
     circulate, circulation, circumgyration, circumrotate,
     circumrotation, circumvolute, clam, climb, come about, concoct,
     continue, crab, crack up, crank, crash, dap, derive, descend,
     devise, dib, dibble, dip, dizzy, dizzy round, drag out, draw out,
     drive, ebb, eddy, excursion, extend, fabricate, feather,
     fetch about, filament, fish, fishtail, flat spin, flow, fluster,
     fly-fish, full circle, get over, giddy, gig, gin, go, go about,
     go around, go fishing, go round, go sideways, grig, guddle, gurge,
     gyrate, gyration, gyre, heel, invent, jack, jacklight, jaunt, jig,
     joyride, keep alive, keep going, lift, loop, maelstrom, make up,
     mix up, mount, move, move over, muddle, narrate, net, oscillate,
     outing, pendulate, perpetuate, pickup, pirouette, pivot,
     pivot about, pivoting, plow, plunge, porpoise, produce, progress,
     prolong, protract, pull out, pull up, purl, push down, put about,
     rat race, recount, reel, reeling, regress, relate, retail,
     retrogress, revolution, revolve, revolving, ride, rise, roll,
     rolling, rotate, rotating, rotation, rotational motion, round, run,
     screw, seine, separate, shift, shred, shrimp, sideslip, sink, skid,
     soar, spin off, spin out, spinning, spiral, still-fish, stir,
     stream, stretch out, stunt, subside, surge, swim, swing,
     swing round, swinging, swirl, swirling, swivel, swiveling,
     tailspin, tell, torch, tour, travel, trawl, troll, trolling,
     trundling, turbination, turn, turn a pirouette, turn about,
     turn around, turn round, turn tail, turning, twirl, twirling,
     twist, undulate, unfold, veer, veer around, vibrate, volutation,
     volution, vortex, wamble, wane, weave, whale, wheel, wheel about,
     wheeling, whir, whirl, whirligig, whirling, whirlpool, whirlwind,
     wind, yaw
  
  

From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:

  SPIN
       Sponsored Programs Information Network
       
       

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  spin vi. Equivalent to {buzz}. More common among C and Unix
     programmers. See the discussion of `spinlock' under {busy-wait}.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  spin
       
          Equivalent to {buzz}.  More common among {C} and {Unix}
          programmers.
       
          [{Jargon File}]