Spins

How to spell spins

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce spins

What does spins mean?

1. verbTurns rapidly around a central point.
2. nounActs of turning around, or short pleasure trips in a vehicle.

Spins in a sentence

• verb

  The washing machine spins the load before the rinse cycle.

• noun

  The skater added two extra spins to her routine.

• verb

  The dancer spins gracefully across the polished floor.

• noun

  On Sundays they take leisurely spins along the coast road in the old car.

Where does spins come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the inflected form of 'spin', which descends from the Old English verb spinnan, meaning to draw out and twist fibre into thread. It belongs to a wide Germanic family, with close relatives such as the Dutch spinnen and the German spinnen, all carrying the same idea of twisting strands together. The original sense was strictly about textile work, the patient labour of turning raw wool or flax into yarn, and the noun 'spinster' once simply meant a woman who spun. Over time the meaning broadened from twisting thread to any rapid turning motion, so a coin, a wheel, or a dancer could all be said to spin. The modern figurative use, putting a favourable 'spin' on information, is a twentieth century extension of the same turning image. The spelling is refreshingly regular: a single 'n' and a simple plural 's', with no hidden trap.

How the word is built

• spin (Old English spinnan: to draw out and twist fibre)
• -s (third person singular / plural)