rotation

UK: /rəʊˈteɪʃ^ən/ US: (rō tā′shən)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

ro•ta•tion  (rō tā′shən), n. 

1. the act of rotating;
   a turning around as on an axis.
2. Astronomy
   • the movement or path of the earth or a heavenly body turning on its axis.
   • one complete turn of such a body.
3. regularly recurring succession, as of officials.
4. Agriculture See crop rotation. 
5. Mathematics
   • an operation that rotates a geometric figure about a fixed point.
   • curl (def. 17).
6. Games [Pool.] a game in which the balls are played in order by number.
7. Sport [Baseball.] See pitching rotation. 

• Latin rotātiōn- (stem of rotātiō) a rotation, rolling, equivalent. to rotāt(us) (see rotate¹) + -iōn- -ion
• 1545–55

ro•ta′tion•al, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

rotation / rəʊˈteɪʃən/ noun

1. the act of rotating; rotary motion
2. a regular cycle of events in a set order or sequence
3. a planned sequence of cropping according to which the crops grown in successive seasons on the same land are varied so as to make a balanced demand on its resources of fertility
4. a circular motion of a configuration about a given point or line, without a change in shape
5. a transformation in which the coordinate axes are rotated by a fixed angle about the origin
6. the spinning motion of a body, such as a planet, about an internal axis
   Compare revolution5a

roˈtational adjective

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

ro•tate¹ /ˈroʊteɪt/   v., -tat•ed, -tat•ing. 
v. 

1. to (cause to) turn on an axis;
   revolve: [no object]
   The earth rotates once every twenty-four hours.
   [~ + object]
   rotating the Frisbee on his finger.
2. to (cause to) proceed in a fixed routine, as in a cycle: [no object]
   The firefighters rotate in shifts: one week in the Bronx, the next week in Brooklyn.
   [~ + object]
   to rotate crops.

ro•ta•tion, n. [countable* uncountable] See -rota-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

ro•tate¹  (rō′tāt or, esp. Brit., rō tāt′), v., -tat•ed, -tat•ing. 
v.t. 

1. to cause to turn around an axis or center point;
   revolve.
2. Agriculture to cause to go through a cycle of changes;
   cause to pass or follow in a fixed routine of succession:
   to rotate farm crops.
3. to replace (a person, troops, etc.) by another or others, usually according to a schedule or plan.

v.i. 

4. to turn around on or as if on an axis.
5. to proceed in a fixed routine of succession:
   The sentries rotated in keeping watch.

• Latin rotātus (past participle of rotāre to cause to spin, roll, move in a circle), equivalent. to rot(a) wheel + -ātus -ate¹
• 1800–10

ro′tat•a•ble, adj. 
ro′tat•a•bly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 1. wheel, whirl. See turn. 

ro•tate²  (rō′tāt), adj. 

1. Botany wheel-shaped: applied esp. to a gamopetalous short-tubed corolla with a spreading limb. See illus. under corolla. 

• Latin rot(a) wheel + -ate¹
• 1775–85