Pinwheel meaning : An artificial flower with a stem, usually plastic, for children: the flower spins round in the wind, like a small paper windmill. A firework which forms a kind of spinning wheel. A cogged (toothed) gear. A pastry which resembles the artificial flowers above, with some filling or topping in the center. Any food product consisting of layers (for example of pastry and sweet filling, or of bread and meat) rolled into a spiral, visually similar to a cinnamon roll. To spin.