1. a circular arrangement of leaves, petals, or other parts around a stem
Usage: botany
2. a spiral or circular pattern, especially in a fingerprint
3. a complete turn in a spiral shell
Usage: biology

Examples

• The leaves grew in a whorl around the plant’s stem.
• Each fingerprint has a unique pattern of whorls and ridges.
• The detective examined the whorls in the suspect’s fingerprints.
• The shell had five distinct whorls spiraling upward.
• Botanists identified the flower by counting the whorls of petals.
• The snail’s shell showed clear whorls as it grew larger.