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• maelstrom
  maelstrom

  noun

  a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool.
• Maelstrom
  Maelstrom

  noun

  a strong tidal current in a restricted channel in the Lofoten Islands off the NW coast of Norway

maelstrom

American  

[mayl-struhm] / ˈmeɪl strəm /

noun

1. a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool.

2. a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs.

   the maelstrom of early morning traffic.

   Synonyms:

   bedlam, pandemonium, tumult

3. (initial capital letter) a famous hazardous whirlpool off the NW coast of Norway.

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maelstrom ¹ British  

/ ˈmeɪlstrəʊm /

noun

1. a large powerful whirlpool

2. any turbulent confusion

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Maelstrom ² British  

/ ˈmeɪlstrəʊm /

noun

1. a strong tidal current in a restricted channel in the Lofoten Islands off the NW coast of Norway

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Etymology

Origin of maelstrom

1550–60 maelstrom for def. 3; < early Dutch maelstroom, now spelling maalstroom, representing mal ( en ) to grind + stroom stream. See meal ², stream

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Explanation

A maelstrom is a powerful whirlpool. A luckless ship might go down in one, and conflicting ocean currents might cause one. These days, you're more likely to hear maelstrom used metaphorically to describe disasters where many competing forces are at play. When an economy or a government fails, the situation is often described as a maelstrom. Following some precipitous event, all the forces at play — banks, governments, consumers — are trying as hard as they can to protect themselves. This creates a maelstrom — a perfect storm, so to speak — that drags any potential for rescue down with it. Maelstrom comes from an obsolete Dutch phrase meaning "whirling stream."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

maelstrom Maelstrom

In the maelstrom, he drew on an experience from three years earlier.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

In the bombsight’s crosshairs sat Emperor Hirohito, a gentle, scholarly figure unprepared for the maelstrom unleashed at Pearl Harbor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

In a maelstrom, one might think such niggling questions of jurisdiction and their attendant turf wars would be set aside.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

SEATTLE—For all of the controversy that had engulfed Team USA in the 24 hours leading up to its match against Belgium, the game itself was always going to represent something more than a political maelstrom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

He must pull the paddle free from the rocks now and force himself into that maelstrom.

From "Son" by Lois Lowry

“I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition’s flames before I give him up.’

From Washington Times ● Feb. 6, 2018

"Nixon eschewed policy specifics, relying instead on what one reporter called 'oratory so evenhanded as to be meaningless,'" Michael Cohen writes in "American Maelstrom," his excellent history of the 1968 campaign.

From US News ● Jul. 22, 2016

Legendary Pictures will produce Maelstrom with Upper Room Productions, the company Boyega set up earlier this year with agent Femi Oguns.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2016

Redefining the fear factor were the "Maelstrom Maestros": Jennifer Kent made a storybook monster and a depressed mother's rage come horrifyingly alive in "The Babadook."

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2014

No whirlpool, not Maelstrom itself, could fright them as those four men.

From Gwen Wynn by Mayne Reid

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Related Words

• chaos
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• turmoil

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