[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/whorl/)

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# whorl

noun (a whorl, whorls)

«whorl» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A whorl is a pattern of curved lines that go round and round, like a spiral. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whorl/#m1)
2. In fingerprints, a whorl is a circle or spiral pattern in the middle of the print. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whorl/#m2)
3. In plants, a whorl is a ring of leaves or petals growing around a stem at the same point. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whorl/#m3)
4. A whorl is one turn of a shell's spiral. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whorl/#m4)

### In the lessons

Used in science (fingerprints in forensic investigation, plant structure, shells) and art. Fingerprint types: arches, loops and whorls.

### Examples

- My thumbprint has a whorl in the middle. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whorl/#x1)
- Fingerprints have loops, arches and whorls. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whorl/#x2)
- The snail shell has five whorls. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whorl/#x3)
- The leaves grow in a whorl around the stem. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whorl/#x4)
- The wood showed whorls where the branches had been. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whorl/#x5)
- She painted a whorl of blue and white in the sky. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whorl/#x6)

### Note

Pronounced «whurl» or «wawl», rhymes with «world» without the d in many accents. Do not confuse with «whirl» (to spin fast) or «world».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «whorl» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whorl/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«whorl» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/whorl.html) on Mova free.