vertigo is a problem in the ear that makes a person dizzy

Vertigo is extreme dizziness. If you spin around quickly for thirty seconds and then stop, you will experience vertigo. Vertigo is the result of some kind of disturbance in the semicircular canals. These are tiny structures in the inner ear, which sense angular motion and turning. If a doctor squirts water into the ear to clean out earwax, the cold water may induce vertigo. Problems in the inner ear may produce vertigo. Vertigo is often associated with motion sickness. Fear of heights is often called "vertigo." However, this is an incorrect use of the word; it should be called "acrophobia." Similarly, the unpleasant psychological sensation, experienced when you look down from a high place, is often called "vertigo." People will speak of "the vertiginous view from the glass elevator."

Vertigo indicates a state of being dizzy.