spinning top

spinning top (plural spinning tops)

1. A toy with a tapering point that can be made to spin on its axis, either with a built-in pump-action handle, with the fingers or with a string.

   Synonyms: humming top, spin-top, top

   • 2023 August 11, Nicola Davis, “Scientists may be on brink of discovering fifth force of nature”, in The Guardian‎:

     Patel says the muons behave a bit like a child’s spinning top, in rotating around the axis of the magnetic field. However, as the muons move, they wobble.

• postpinning, topspinning