v.1. To move with a twisting or whirling motion; eddy: It's hard to fly a kite when the wind swirls around like this.
2. To move around something with a twisting or whirling motion, as in an eddy: As I stood in the river, the water swirled around my legs. The snow swirled around us.
3. To apply something in swirls over some area: The baker swirled the icing around the cake. I swirled syrup around the pancakes.
4. To circulate among some group of people in response to a particular subject: Rumors swirled around Hollywood.
5. To circulate or occur in response to something or someone that is controversial, provocative, or secretive: Rumors swirled around the governor. Controversy swirled around the new budget.