1. circular or spiral patterns or arrangements
2. circular arrangements of leaves, petals, or other plant parts around a stem
Usage: botanical
3. the ridged patterns on fingertips used for identification
Usage: forensic

Examples

• The detective examined the whorls on the suspect’s fingerprints.
• Leaves grew in whorls around the plant’s stem.
• The artist painted delicate whorls in the water’s surface.
• Smoke rose in lazy whorls from the campfire.
• The botanist counted three whorls of petals on each flower.
• Shell patterns showed beautiful spiral whorls.
• Wind created whorls in the sand dunes.