Definition of "gyre" in English

noun

1. A swirling vortex.

2. A circular or spiral motion; also, a circle described by a moving body; a revolution, a turn.

3. (anatomy, zootomy, archaic) Synonym of gyrus (“a fold or ridge on the cerebral cortex of the brain”).

4. (oceanography) An ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner, especially one that is large-scale and observed in a major ocean.

   • Most ships that tried to cross the Pacific in the past would get stuck in the gyres and never make it out.

verb

1. (intransitive) To spin around; to gyrate, to whirl.

2. (transitive, rare) To make (something) spin or whirl around; to spin, to whirl.