The noun whirl has 4 senses (first 1 from tagged texts)
1. (1) whirl, commotion -- (confused movement; "he was caught up in a whirl of work"; "a commotion of people fought for the exits")
2. whirl, swirl, vortex, convolution -- (the shape of something rotating rapidly)
3. crack, fling, go, pass, whirl, offer -- (a usually brief attempt; "he took a crack at it"; "I gave it a whirl")
4. spin, twirl, twist, twisting, whirl -- (the act of rotating rapidly; "he gave the crank a spin"; "it broke off after much twisting")
Overview of verb whirl
The verb whirl has 5 senses (first 4 from tagged texts)
1. (6) twirl, swirl, twiddle, whirl -- (turn in a twisting or spinning motion; "The leaves swirled in the autumn wind")
2. (2) whirl, birl, spin, twirl -- (cause to spin; "spin a coin")
3. (1) eddy, purl, whirlpool, swirl, whirl -- (flow in a circular current, of liquids)
4. (1) spin, spin around, whirl, reel, gyrate -- (revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis; "The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy")
5. whirl, tumble, whirl around -- (fly around; "The clothes tumbled in the dryer"; "rising smoke whirled in the air")