rotation
noun
ro·ta·tion
rō-ˈtā-shən 
1
a(1)
: the action or process of rotating on or as if on an axis or center
(2)
: the act or an instance of rotating something
b
: one complete turn : the angular displacement required to return a rotating body or figure to its original orientation
2
a
: return or succession in a series
rotation of the seasons
b
3
: the turning of a body part about its long axis as if on a pivot
4
: a game of pool in which all 15 object balls are shot in numerical order
5
: the series of pitchers on a baseball team who regularly start successive games in turn
Examples of rotation in a Sentence
the rotation of the Earth around its axis
the rotation of the Moon around the Earth
The Earth makes one rotation every day.
Alfalfa and corn are planted in rotation.
the rotation of the job of club president
The car needs a tire rotation.
Recent Examples on the Web
After his ejection, Detroit overcame his absence and two rotation players — Ron Holland II and Isaiah Stewart — fouling out to beat the Rockets 115-111 on the road in a physical game to earn its first win of the season.
—
Hunter Patterson, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
This past summer, Robert Graves’s The Big Green Book was on heavy rotation in my two-year-old’s bedtime reading.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
League officials suspended Billups and Rozier, a reserve guard not in the Heat's rotation, late on Thursday.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
Woods expects that the true story of the market could be in the ongoing rotation underneath, such as in healthcare and materials.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rotation
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Hunter Patterson, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
This past summer, Robert Graves’s The Big Green Book was on heavy rotation in my two-year-old’s bedtime reading.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
League officials suspended Billups and Rozier, a reserve guard not in the Heat's rotation, late on Thursday.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
Woods expects that the true story of the market could be in the ongoing rotation underneath, such as in healthcare and materials.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rotation
Cite this Entry
“Rotation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rotation. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rotation
noun
ro·ta·tion
rō-ˈtā-shən
1
a
: the act of rotating especially on an axis
b
: one complete turn
2
Medical Definition
rotation
noun
ro·ta·tion
rō-ˈtā-shən
: the action or process of rotating on or as if on an axis or center
specifically
: the turning of a body part about its long axis as if on a pivot
rotation of the head to look over the shoulder
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