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spin

n. C / U
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈspɪn// UK //spˈɪn// spin Archaic Informal Slang

n. a way of telling a story that makes you or your side look better than you really are. You use this when you want to influence how people feel about a situation.

n. a particular bias or slant given to information or a story to influence public opinion. Informal in register; frequently used in political and corporate communication contexts.


SIMPLE

The politician's team put a positive spin on the election results.

CONTEXTUAL

After the company lost millions, the PR department tried to put a creative spin on the financial report.

COMPLEX

The administration's attempt to put a favorable spin on the legislative defeat was largely undermined by leaked documents that revealed the internal chaos of the negotiation process.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English spinnen, from Old English spinnan, from Proto-Germanic spinnaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)penh₁-. Cognates Cognate with Dutch, German spinnen (“to spin”), Luxembourgish spannen (“to spin”), Yiddish שפּינען (shpinen, “spin”), Danish spinde (“to spin”), Faroese, Icelandic and Swedish spinna (“to spin”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk spinne (“to spin”), Gothic 𐍃𐍀𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (spinnan, “to spin”).

Etymology 2

Clipping of special interest.

Usage

Commonly used with the verb 'put' and the preposition 'on' ('to put a spin on something').

Idioms7 entries

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