rotate

verb

1. 1

   To spin, turn, or revolve.

   He rotated in his chair to face me.

   The earth rotates.

2. 2

   To advance through a sequence; to take turns.

   The nurses' shifts rotate each week.

3. 3

   To lift the nose during takeoff, just prior to liftoff.

   The aircraft rotates at sixty knots.

4. 4

   To spin, turn, or revolve something.

   Rotate the dial to the left.

5. 5

   To advance something through a sequence; to allocate or deploy in turns.

   I've always admired the Japanese point of view that holds it best not to have a great number of objects around at one time but to rotate possessions — and display them with great simplicity.

6. 6

   To replace older materials or to place older materials in front of newer ones so that older ones get used first.

   The supermarket rotates the stock daily so that old foods don't sit around.

7. 7

   To grow or plant (crops) in a certain order.

adjective

1. 1

   Having the parts spreading out like a wheel; wheel-shaped.

   a rotate spicule or scale; a rotate corolla

Forms

past tense

rotated

past participle

rotated

present participle

rotating

third person singular

rotates