Definitions of whirl:

• noun:   confused movement

  Example: "He was caught up in a whirl of work"

• noun:   the shape of something rotating rapidly
• noun:   the act of rotating rapidly
• noun:   a usually brief attempt

  Example: "I gave it a whirl"

• verb:   fly around

  Example: "Rising smoke whirled in the air"

• verb:   cause to spin
• verb:   revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis

  Example: "The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy"

• verb:   turn in a twisting or spinning motion
• verb:   flow in a circular current, of liquids