rotation

 
Pronunciation: /rə(ʊ)ˈteɪʃ(ə)n/

noun

[mass noun]
  • 1the action of rotating about an axis or centre: the moon moves in the same direction as the earth’s rotation [count noun]: several solar rotations
  • Mathematics the conceptual operation of turning a system about an axis.
  • Mathematicsanother term for curl (sense 3 of the noun).
  • 2the passing of a privilege or responsibility to each member of a group in a regularly recurring order: it has become common for senior academics to act as heads of department in rotation
  • (also crop rotation) the growing of different crops in succession on a piece of land to avoid exhausting the soil: traditional practices such as crop rotation
  • Forestry the cycle of growth and felling or cutting of trees: short rotation forestry [count noun]: a rotation of 60-80 years to provide valuable saw timber
  • [count noun] US a tour of duty, especially by a medical practitioner in training: she was completing a rotation in trauma surgery

Derivatives

rotational

adjective

rotationally

adverb

Origin:

mid 16th century: from Latin rotatio(n-), from the verb rotare (see rotate)