tailspin

[teyl-spin] /ˈteɪlˌspɪn/

Examples
Word Origin

noun, Also, tail spin

spin (def 23).

a sudden and helpless collapse into failure, confusion, or the like.

verb (used without object), tailspinned, tailspinning.

to take or experience a sudden and dramatic downturn:

After the mill closes, the local economy may tailspin.

Origin of tailspin

1910-1915

First recorded in 1910-15; tail¹ + spin

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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Examples from the Web for tail-spin

Contemporary Examples

Introduce the concept of King Charles and Queen Camilla, and the numbers go into a tail-spin (even I get queasy).

Republicans in the UK! Tom Sykes May 19, 2012

Historical Examples

The motor made an uneven sound, threatening to stall, and the plane went into a tail-spin.

Linda Carlton, Air Pilot Edith Lavell
Vainly the pilot strove to avoid the nerve-racking "tail-spin."

Billy Barcroft, R.N.A.S. Percy F. Westerman

British Dictionary definitions for tail-spin

tailspin

/ˈteɪlˌspɪn/

noun

(aeronautics) another name for spin (sense 16)

(informal) a state of confusion or panic

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for tail-spin

tailspin

"downward spiraling dive of an aircraft," 1916, from tail (n.1) + spin (n.). Figurative sense of "state of loss of control" is from 1928.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang definitions & phrases for tail-spin

tailspin

Related Terms

in a tailspin

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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Idioms and Phrases with tail-spin

tailspin

see: go into a tailspin

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Difficulty index for tailspin

Few English speakers likely know this word

Word Value for tail

Scrabble Words With Friends

Nearby words for tail-spin

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