To rotate means to turn around a fixed point or axis, like a wheel spinning on its axle or the Earth turning on its axis to create day and night. When you rotate something, it moves in a circular path while staying in basically the same spot.

Think about a merry-go-round: as it rotates, the horses move in circles but the whole structure stays anchored in one place. A basketball player rotates their body to face a different direction while keeping one foot planted. Helicopter blades rotate rapidly to lift the aircraft into the air.

The word also describes taking turns in a regular pattern. Teachers might rotate which student leads morning announcements each week. Baseball players rotate through different positions over the season to develop varied skills. A farmer rotates crops, planting corn one year and soybeans the next, because this keeps the soil healthy.

When something completes one full rotation, it has turned 360 degrees and returned to where it started. The minute hand on a clock rotates once every hour. A figure skater executing a perfect rotation spins once completely around before landing.

Related words include revolve, though that typically describes moving around something else (like planets revolving around the Sun), while rotate emphasizes the spinning motion itself.