rotate

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ro·tate / ˈrōˌtāt/ • v. [intr.] move in a circle around an axis or center: the wheel continued to rotate | [as adj.] (rotating) a rotating drum. ∎  [tr.] cause to move around an axis or in a circle: the small directional side rockets rotated the craft. ∎  pass to each member of a group in a regularly recurring order: the job of chairing the meeting rotates. ∎  [tr.] grow (different crops) in succession on a particular piece of land to avoid exhausting the soil: these crops were sometimes rotated with grass. ∎  [tr.] change the position of (tires) on a motor vehicle to distribute wear evenly.DERIVATIVES: ro·tat·a·ble / ˈrōˌtātəbəl; rōˈtāt-/ adj.ro·ta·tive / ˈrōˌtātiv/ adj.ro·ta·to·ry / ˈrōtəˌtôrē/ adj.ORIGIN: late 17th cent.: from Latin rotat- ‘turned in a circle,’ from the verb rotare, from rota ‘wheel.’ro·tate2 • adj. shaped like a wheel, as the corolla of some flowers.

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