Link Centre Dictionary

revolve

re·volve

UK/ɹɪˈvɒlv/ US/ɹɪˈvɑlv/ uncommon archaic obsolete

verb

1.

turn on or around an axis or a center

  • “The Earth revolves around the Sun”
  • “The lamb roast rotates on a spit over the fire”
2.

move in an orbit

  • “The moon orbits around the Earth”
  • “The planets are orbiting the sun”
  • “electrons orbit the nucleus”
Synonyms
3.

cause to move by turning over or in a circular manner of as if on an axis

  • “She rolled the ball”
  • “They rolled their eyes at his words”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English revolven (“to change direction”), borrowed from Old French revolver (“to reflect upon”), from Latin revolvere (“turn over, roll back, reflect upon”), from re- (“back”) + volvō (“roll”); see voluble, volve.

Phrases

  • revolve around
  • the world doesn't revolve around you

Related words

Broader terms

See also

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.