spin

For the verb: "to spin"

Simple Past:	spun
Past Participle:	spun

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
spin/spɪn/

▶verb (spins, spinning, spun)

• 1 turn or cause to turn round quickly.

  ■ (of a person's head) give a sensation of dizziness.

  ■ chiefly Cricket (with reference to a ball) move or cause to move through the air with a revolving motion.

  ■ shape (sheet metal) by pressure applied during rotation on a lathe.

• 2 draw out and twist (the fibres of wool, cotton, or other material) to convert them into yarn.

  ■ make (threads) in this way.

  ■ (of a spider, silkworm, etc.) produce (gossamer or silk) or construct (a web or cocoon) by extruding a fine viscous thread from a special gland.

• 3 (spin something out) make something last as long as possible.

• 4 (spin out) N. Amer. (of a driver or car) lose control in a skid.

• 5 (spin something off) (of a parent company) turn a subsidiary into a new and separate company.

• 6 informal give (a news story) a particular emphasis or bias.

• 7 fish with a spinner.

▶noun

• 1 a spinning motion.

  ■ a fast revolving motion of an aircraft as it descends rapidly.

  ■ Physics the intrinsic angular momentum of a subatomic particle.

• 2 informal a brief trip in a vehicle for pleasure.

• 3 the presentation of information in a particular way, especially a favourable one.

• 4 Austral./NZ informal a piece of good or bad luck.

– phrases
flat spin

• 1 a spin in which an aircraft descends in tight circles while remaining horizontal.

• 2 Brit. informal a state of agitation.

spin one's wheels N. Amer. informal waste one's time or efforts.
spin a yarn tell a long, far-fetched story.

– origin OE spinnan ‘draw out and twist (fibre)’.