<B>spin, </B>verb, <B>spun</B> or (Archaic) <B>span,</B> <B>spun,</B> <B>spinning,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to make turn around or revolve rapidly. <BR> <I>Ex. The boy spins his top.</I> (SYN) twirl, whirl, rotate. <DD><B> 2. </B>to draw out and twist (cotton, flax, or wool) into thread, either by hand or by machinery. <DD><B> 3. </B>to make (thread or yarn) by drawing out and twisting cotton, flax, or wool. <DD><B> 4. </B>to make (a thread, web, or cocoon) by giving out from the body sticky material that hardens into thread. A spider spins a web. <DD><B> 5. </B>to make (glass, gold, or other solid material) into thread. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Figurative.) to produce, draw out, or tell in a manner suggestive of spinning. <BR> <I>Ex. The old sailor used to spin yarns about adventures at sea. ... spinning their dark intrigues (Benjamin Disraeli).</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>to shape on a lathe or wheel. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to turn around rapidly. <BR> <I>Ex. the wheels spun on the ice. Let the great world spin forever down the ringing grooves of change (Tennyson).</I> (SYN) twirl, whirl, rotate. <DD><B> 2. </B>to feel as if one were whirling around; feel dizzy or giddy. <BR> <I>Ex. My head is spinning.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to run, ride, or drive rapidly. <BR> <I>Ex. The automobile spun over the smooth expressway.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to fish or troll with a spinner or spinning reel. <DD><B> 5. </B>to draw out and twist the fibers of cotton, flax, or wool into thread. <DD><B> 6. </B>to produce, as a thread, web, or cocoon, from a sticky material, as spiders do. <DD><B> 7. </B>to act as a disk jockey, especially by providing rhythmical commentary along with the music. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act of spinning. <DD><B> 2a. </B>a twisting or spinning motion, as of a ball when thrown, struck, or delivered in a certain way. <DD><B> b. </B>(U.S. Figurative.) a way of regarding something; slant; angle. <BR> <I>Ex. Americans know how to put a positive spin on the most explosive event (Los Angeles Times). As the President's political fortunes have slipped, aides ... are trying to alter the "spin" of news coverage, especially analyses (U.S. News & World Report).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a rapid run, ride, or drive. <BR> <I>Ex. Get your bicycle and come for a spin.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a rapid turning around of an airplane as it falls, often out of control. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Physics.) the angular momentum of an elementary nuclear particle. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Australian.) experience; fortune; luck. <BR> <I>Ex. I know you've 'ad a bad spin and ... you're all on edge (Ray Lawlor).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>spin off,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to distribute shares in a new corporation among stockholders of a parent corporation. </I> <I>Ex. Reports persist that Grayson-Robinson will spin off its Klein's stores early in the new year (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) to create or make separate, especially as a by-product or copy. <BR> <I>Ex. From the file, the publisher can now produce updated editions with minimum effort, and can spin off subsidiary products as well (Publishers Weekly).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="spinabifida">
<B>spina bifida,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a congenital gap or cleft in the posterior wall of the spinal canal. </DL>
<A NAME="spinaceous">
<B>spinaceous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or like spinach. <DD><B> 2. </B>belonging to the family of plants that includes spinach. </DL>
<A NAME="spinach">
<B>spinach, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a plant whose green leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable, or used uncooked in a salad. It belongs to the goosefoot family. <DD><B> 2. </B>its leaves. </DL>
<A NAME="spinal">
<B>spinal, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with the spine or backbone. <BR> <I>Ex. a spinal nerve, a spinal anesthetic.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>in the region of the spine. <DD><B> 3. </B>resembling a spine in form or function. <BR> <I>Ex. a spinal ridge or hill.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>of or having to do with spines or sharp-pointed parts or bodies. <DD><I>noun </I> (Informal.) a spinal anesthetic. adv. <B>spinally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="spinalanesthesia">
<B>spinal anesthesia,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> anesthesia by injection into the spinal canal, affecting the lower part of the body and the legs. </DL>
<A NAME="spinalblock">
<B>spinal block,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an obstructing of the flow of cerebrospinal fluid by the injection of an anesthetic into the nerves of the spinal canal. </DL>
<A NAME="spinalcanal">
<B>spinal canal,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the duct formed by openings of the articulated vertebrae, containing the spinal cord. </DL>
<A NAME="spinalcolumn">
<B>spinal column,</B> =backbone.</DL>
<A NAME="spinalcord">
<B>spinal cord,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the thick, whitish cord of nerve tissue which extends from the brain down through most of the backbone and from which nerves to various parts of the body branch off. The spinal cord begins at its upper end in the medulla oblongata. </DL>
<A NAME="spinalmarrow">
<B>spinal marrow,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the tissue of the spinal cord, found in the cavity running through the chain of vertebrae. </DL>
<A NAME="spinaltap">
<B>spinal tap,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the removal of some cerebrospinal fluid from the base of the spine to analyze it for symptoms of brain or spinal disease or to replace it with an anesthetic; lumbar puncture. </DL>
<A NAME="spinar">
<B>spinar, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a rapidly spinning galactic body. </DL>
<B>spindle, </B>noun, adjective, verb, <B>-dled,</B> <B>-dling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a rod or pin used in spinning to twist, wind, and hold thread. In hand spinning, the spindle is a round, usually wooden rod, tapering toward each end, that revolves and twists into thread the fibers drawn out from the bunch of wool, flax, or other material, on the distaff. In machine spinning, a spindle is one of the many steel rods on which a bobbin is placed to hold the thread as it is spun. <DD><B> 2. </B>a certain quantity or measure of yarn, such as 15,120 yards for cotton and 14,400 yards for linen. <DD><B> 3. </B>any rod or pin that turns around or on which something turns. Axles and shafts are spindles. The two shaftlike parts of a lathe that hold the work are spindles. The small shaft passing through a lock, upon which the knobs or handles are fitted, is also a spindle. <DD><B> 4. </B>something shaped like a spindle. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Biology.) the group of achromatic fibers along which the chromosomes are arranged during mitosis and meiosis. The spindle joins the two newly formed nuclei and forms a rounded figure which tapers from the middle toward each end. <DD><B> 6. </B>one of the turned or circular, supporting parts of a baluster or stair rail. <DD><B> 7. </B>an iron rod or post fixed to a rock, reef, or the like, to warn navigators. <DD><B> 8. </B><B>=hydrometer.</B> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to grow long and thin. <DD><B> 2. </B>(of a plant) to grow into a long, slender stalk or stem. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to form into the shape of a spindle. </DL>
<A NAME="spindlecell">
<B>spindle cell,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a spindle-shaped or fusiform cell. <BR> <I>Ex. Spindle cells found in the gill covers, chest and throat regions of the minnow Phoxinus laevis ... were in fact closely associated with what seemed to be nerve fibers (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="spindleful">
<B>spindleful, </B>noun, pl. <B>-fuls.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> as much thread or yarn as a spindle can hold. </DL>
<A NAME="spindlelegged">
<B>spindle-legged, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having long, thin legs. </DL>
<A NAME="spindlelegs">
<B>spindlelegs, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) a person with long, thin legs. </DL>
<B>spindle side,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the female side, or line of descent, of a family; distaff side. </DL>
<A NAME="spindletree">
<B>spindle tree,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of trees and shrubs of the staff-tree family, whose hard, fine-grained, yellowish wood was formerly much used for spindles. </DL>
<A NAME="spindling">
<B>spindling, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> very long and slender; too tall and thin. <BR> <I>Ex. a weak, spindling plant.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a spindling plant or animal. <DD><B> 2. </B>the action of twisting something. </DL>
<B>spin doctor,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) a press agent hired to interpret news events for public presentation. <BR> <I>Ex. You have just been massaged ... --and maybe had--by some savvy movie publicists, the spin doctors of the entertainment industry (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="spindrift">
<B>spindrift, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> spray blown or dashed up from the waves. <BR> <I>Ex. It ... began to blow with furious gusts which angrily tore the small waves of the inland sea into spindrift (Norman Macleod).</I> (SYN) scud. Also, <B>spoondrift.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="spine">
<B>spine, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the series of small bones down the middle of the back in man and other vertebrates; backbone; spinal column. <DD><B> 2a. </B>anything like a backbone; long, narrow ridge or support. <BR> <I>Ex. the spine of a mountain.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) courage or determination, such as that by which a person is supported in the face of danger or adversity. <BR> <I>Ex. Threats merely stiffened his spine.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Botany.) a stiff, sharp-pointed growth of woody tissue. <BR> <I>Ex. The cactus and hawthorn have spines.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Zoology.) <DD><B> a. </B>a stiff, pointed, thornlike part or projection. <BR> <I>Ex. A procupine's spines are called quills.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a sharp, rigid fin ray of a fish. <DD><B> c. </B><B>=spicule.</B> <DD><B> 5. </B>a slender, pointed process, as of a bone. <DD><B> 6. </B>the supporting back portion of a book cover. adj. <B>spinelike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="spinechilling">
<B>spine-chilling, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that causes the spine to tingle with chilling fright; terrifying; exciting. <BR> <I>Ex. Edgar Allan Poe wrote many spine-chilling short stories.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="spined">
<B>spined, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having a spine or spines. </DL>
