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whirlpool

/ˌwʌrlˈpul/
/ˌhwʌrlˈpul/
/ˈwʌlpul/
IPA guide

Other forms: whirlpools

When two water currents meet, they sometimes form a swirling, circular whirlpool. There are some small but very strong whirlpools at the bottom of Niagara Falls.

The way water moves in a circle as it drains out of your bathtub is a smaller version of what a whirlpool looks like in a large body of water. Whirlpools can be dangerous for swimmers and small boats, although larger ships aren't at any real risk of being sucked into a whirlpool, even a particularly large and powerful one — which can also be called a maelstrom.

Definitions of whirlpool
  1. noun
    a powerful circular current of water (usually the result of conflicting tides)
    synonyms: maelstrom, vortex
    see moresee less
    types:
    Charybdis
    (Greek mythology) a ship-devouring whirlpool lying on the other side of a narrow strait from Scylla
    type of:
    current, stream
    a steady flow of a fluid (usually from natural causes)
  2. verb
    flow in a circular current, of liquids
    synonyms: eddy, purl, swirl, whirl
    see moresee less
    type of:
    course, feed, flow, run
    move along, of liquids
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