rotary
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
About or having rotation.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rohtereeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹoʊtɚi
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
chiefly with initial capital
Any of the clubs making up the international Rotary International movement for community service.
New EnglandAtlantic Canada
A roundabout, traffic circle.
adjective
Relating to or characterized by rotation
Capable of rotation.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Any of the clubs making up the international Rotary International movement for community service.
Used this way, rotary is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use rotary
- “The accident blocked all traffic at the rotary.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The actuator that moves a read/write head to the proper data track.
A group of businessmen in a town organized as a service club and to promote world peace.
Electrical converter consisting of a synchronous machine that converts alternating to direct current or vice versa.
An internal-combustion engine in which power is transmitted directly to rotating components.
A group of businessmen in a town organized as a service club and to promote world peace.
A freely moving joint in which movement is limited to rotation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.