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eddy

eddy

9 6.7
A small whirl of water or air that turns back from the main flow
  • noun
  • /ˈɛdi/
translation icon : remolino
  • As the ship dips lower, the rushing water forms an eddy that pulls at Murphy.
  • eddy currents
  • eddy flux
  • eddy covariance

Examples

  • A swirling little eddy of dust, red as a real devil.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Finally, the heavens relented, the rain softened, and he was at an eddy in a swirling pool.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • There's a little eddy there.

  • GRANT: All right, after this run, we're gonna come to a small eddy where there's a little beach.

  • As had been the case with the dog, the current carried him into the eddy, where he paused.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • I know every turn of the Nile, every eddy of the Mississippi.

  • Wills and Charlotte lean down on the railing, watching the water purl and eddy around Randall's Island.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Konrad had spent the night paddling the canoe upstream from eddy to eddy and checking his traps.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • We'd already passed a flotilla of scout rafts all tethered together in a large eddy, taking flycasting lessons.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • The leaves swirled in the eddy as the wind picked up near the riverbank.

Synonyms

vortex
vseddy
81 7.2

A spinning mass of air or water that pulls things toward its center

is smaller and has a weaker inward pull
swirl
vseddy
48 2.7

A twisting, spiral shape like smoke or cream in coffee

is a small circulating flow formed when a current doubles back

Antonyms

52 1.0

A quiet, peaceful feeling that helps you stay steady

38 3.5

A time of complete quiet and no movement that feels calm

How Strong

maelstrom
11 9.5
whirlpool
28 3.8
vortex
81 7.2
eddy
9 6.7

Surface Forms

eddy singular
eddies plural

Etymology

The word eddy comes from old words for a small 'whirl' in water or air. Imagine the flow turning back on itself to make a tiny circular pool, so an eddy is a small whirlpool or whirlwind.