What context can I use each word in?
Learn when and how to use these words with these examples!
swiveling
Example
The office chair is designed for swiveling, making it easy to turn and reach different areas of the desk. [swiveling: present participle]
Example
He swiveled his head to look at the noise behind him. [swiveled: past tense]
spin
Example
The top began to spin faster and faster until it fell over. [spin: verb]
Example
The car spun out of control on the icy road. [spun: past tense]
Example
The politician tried to spin the story to make himself look better. [spin: verb]
Good things to know
Which word is more common?
Spin is more commonly used than swiveling in everyday language. Spin has a wider range of applications, including physical movement, storytelling, and marketing, while swiveling is more limited to describing functional movement around a fixed point.
What’s the difference in the tone of formality between swiveling and spin?
Both swiveling and spin are relatively informal words, but spin may be more commonly used in formal contexts such as politics or media, where it is used to describe the presentation of information in a particular way.
