spiral

American  

[spahy-ruhl] / ˈspaɪ rəl /

noun

• spirals
  plural

1. Geometry. a plane curve generated by a point moving around a fixed point while constantly receding from or approaching it.

2. a helix.

3. a single circle or ring of a spiral or helical curve or object.

4. a spiral or helical object, formation, or form.

5. Aeronautics. a maneuver in which an airplane descends in a helix of small pitch and large radius, with the angle of attack within that of the normal flight range.

6. Football. a type of kick or pass in which the ball turns on its longer axis as it flies through the air.

7. Economics. a continuous increase in costs, wages, prices, etc. inflationary spiral, or a decrease in costs, wages, prices, etc. deflationary spiral.

---

adjective

1. running continuously around a fixed point or center while constantly receding from or approaching it; coiling in a single plane.

   a spiral curve.

2. coiling around a fixed line or axis in a constantly changing series of planes; helical.

3. of or of the nature of a spire or coil.

4. bound with a spiral binding; spiral-bound.

   a spiral notebook.

verb (used without object)

• spirals,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spiraled,
  past participle,  past
• spiralled,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• spiraling,
  present participle
• spiralling
  present participle (especially British)

1. to take a spiral form or course.

2. to advance or increase steadily; rise.

   Costs have been spiraling all year.

3. Aeronautics. to fly an airplane through a spiral course.

verb (used with object)

• spirals,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spiraled,
  past participle,  past
• spiralled,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• spiraling,
  present participle
• spiralling
  present participle (especially British)

1. to cause to take a spiral form or course.

spiral British  

/ ˈspaɪərəl /

noun

1. geometry one of several plane curves formed by a point winding about a fixed point at an ever-increasing distance from it. Polar equation of Archimedes spiral: r = a θ; of logarithmic spiral: log r = a θ; of hyperbolic spiral: r θ = a, (where a is a constant)

2. another name for helix

3. something that pursues a winding, usually upward, course or that displays a twisting form or shape

4. a flight manoeuvre in which an aircraft descends describing a helix of comparatively large radius with the angle of attack within the normal flight range Compare spin

5. economics a continuous upward or downward movement in economic activity or prices, caused by interaction between prices, wages, demand, and production

---

adjective

1. having the shape of a spiral

verb

1. to assume or cause to assume a spiral course or shape

2. (intr) to increase or decrease with steady acceleration

   wages and prices continue to spiral

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spirality
  noun
• multispiral
  adjective
• nonspiral
  adjective
• subspiral
  adjective
• unspiral
  adjective
• unspiraled
  adjective
• unspiralled
  adjective
• spirally
  adverb
• subspirally
  adverb
• unspirally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spirals
  plural

Participles

• spiraling
  present
• spiralling
  present
• spiraled
  past
• spiralled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• spiral
  simple
• spirals
  simple
• have spiraled
  perfect
• have spiralled
  perfect
• has spiraled
  perfect
• has spiralled
  perfect
• am spiraling
  progressive
• am spiralling
  progressive
• are spiraling
  progressive
• are spiralling
  progressive
• is spiraling
  progressive
• is spiralling
  progressive
• have been spiraling
  perfect progressive
• have been spiralling
  perfect progressive
• has been spiraling
  perfect progressive
• has been spiralling
  perfect progressive

Past

• spiraled
  simple
• spiralled
  simple
• had spiraled
  perfect
• had spiralled
  perfect
• was spiraling
  progressive
• was spiralling
  progressive
• were spiraling
  progressive
• were spiralling
  progressive
• had been spiraling
  perfect progressive
• had been spiralling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will spiral
  simple
• will have spiraled
  perfect
• will have spiralled
  perfect
• will be spiraling
  progressive
• will be spiralling
  progressive
• will have been spiraling
  perfect progressive
• will have been spiralling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of spiral

1545–55; < Medieval Latin spīrālis, equivalent to Latin spīr ( a ) coil (< Greek speîra anything coiled, wreathed, or twisted; see spire ²) + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

A spiral is a coil or curl, like the shape of a piece of hair wound around your finger, a Slinky toy, or a corkscrew. A curve forming a series of circles that become gradually larger or smaller is one kind of spiral. You can also use the word as a verb when something moves in a spiral shape: "Then the wind died and I watched my kite spiral down to the ground." The origin of spiral is the Medieval Latin spiralis, which means "winding or coiling," from a Greek root: speira, "coil, twist, or wreath."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spiral spirals spiraled spiralled spiraling spiralling

A desire to reveal something just beneath the visible surface is manifest throughout, from the chiaroscuro studies of marble elevator banks to empty stairwells that spiral out of sight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

But a rapid jump in yields can signal forced selling in the market or a dysfunction that could spiral.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

The discovery adds snake embryos to a long list of naturally occurring spiral structures that scientists are still working to understand.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026

But Spain and France have also been hit by heat waves that hurt harvests, and the Strait of Hormuz crisis has caused fertilizer costs to spiral.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

I scanned the column of familiar photos of Rockport, Motif #1 and Twin Lights, winding my red ponytail into a spiral with my finger.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

Other countries have fallen victim to debt spirals, where high levels of debt lead investors to demand higher interest rates, in turn fueling more borrowing until eventually a country defaults.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Roll it out cinnamon-roll style, spread with cream cheese, Parmesan, herbs and hot giardiniera, then coil, slice and nestle the spirals together in a buttered skillet.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Rose works for an environmental nonprofit that has gone remote because it’s the pandemic; she often spirals at the state of the world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Researchers have uncovered a surprising side effect of artificial lighting: ordinary streetlights can lure thousands of tiny land dwelling isopods into giant synchronized "death spirals."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

Gray spirals flash 1812 overture ushers in lovers turned enemies misjudge misgivings mistrust.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

After that, he said, his mental health spiraled.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Material pulled from the star formed a disk around the black hole and became intensely hot as it spiraled inward.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

The slow-motion crash of cryptocurrencies has weighed heavily on the company, which snapped up tens of billions of dollars in bitcoin as digital assets spiraled to new highs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

Fernando Guerra, a political science professor at Loyola Marymount University, said Pratt seems to have tapped into a deep well of discontent among Angelenos who believe that crime and homeless have spiraled out of control.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026

The ensuing conflict spiraled out to involve the entire center of the Maya realm.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

The campaigns come one year after protests over lavish perks for lawmakers spiralled into general anti-government anger -- Indonesia's biggest unrest since President Prabowo Subianto took office in 2024.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

"I needed therapy because my mental health had spiralled way out of control... but I never understood why," said Mellissa.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

The conflict has since spiralled into Europe's deadliest since World War II.

From Barron's ● May 25, 2026

Rhi said within 24 hours of having her son she was experiencing bowel incontinence, but her mental health also spiralled and she was put under the care of the community mental health team.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

Jason and Piper spiralled upward on the wind.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

The other involves gravitational waves generated billions of years later by pairs of supermassive black holes spiraling toward one another.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

Across the UK, council chiefs said budgets were being severely stretched by the spiraling cost of providing care, homelessness services and supporting looked after children as well as providing home to school transport.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

The spiraling debt outlook from funding the war and concerns about “Washington’s lack of fiscal discipline” are weighing on bonds too, said Simon Ballard, chief economist at First Abu Dhabi Bank, in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

He counsels letter writers on how to handle a cheating brother, discuss religion with a devout friend, and avoid spiraling over the fear of being single forever.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

We were led through a small wooden door, then up a narrow spiraling staircase whose stone steps seemed numberless.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Ghana turned to the IMF amid spiralling debt, soaring inflation and a plunging currency, and subsequently secured a $3 billion programme in 2023.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

These include women's rights, unpredictable Taliban edicts, international sanctions and aid cuts during a spiralling humanitarian crisis.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

President Volodymyr Zelensky will skip this year's Ukraine Recovery Conference hosted in Poland, Kyiv announced Tuesday, amid a spiralling diplomatic spat between the allies and neighbours over World War II memory.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Vance discussed a so-called "de-confliction mechanism" for Lebanon on Monday to prevent spiralling Israel-Hezbollah violence.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Together they performed the peregrine courtship dance, swooping low, zooming high, then spiralling earthward.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Related Words

• circling
• coiled