corkscrew
Americannoun
-
corkscrews
plural
adjective
verb (used with or without object)
-
corkscrews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
corkscrewed,
past participle, past
-
corkscrewing
present participle
noun
-
a device for drawing corks from bottles, typically consisting of a pointed metal spiral attached to a handle or screw mechanism
-
slang boxing a blow that ends with a twist of the fist, esp one intended to cut the opponent
-
(modifier) resembling a corkscrew in shape
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
corkscrewsimple
-
corkscrewssimple
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have corkscrewedperfect
-
has corkscrewedperfect
-
am corkscrewingprogressive
-
are corkscrewingprogressive
-
is corkscrewingprogressive
-
have been corkscrewingperfect progressive
-
has been corkscrewingperfect progressive
Past
-
corkscrewedsimple
-
had corkscrewedperfect
-
was corkscrewingprogressive
-
were corkscrewingprogressive
-
had been corkscrewingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of corkscrew
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She is a fashionable woman, with corkscrew curls coming down in front of her ears.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
It could be a long, slow descent with the lights out on an RAF jet, or a rapid, corkscrew down in a C-130 transport plane.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026
In fact, the French more or less conquered Southern California, not by the bayonet but by the corkscrew.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2025
Another reason to read the book: It boasts a surprise ending with a deliciously complex corkscrew conundrum.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
It had two high-tech-looking antennas on top—one on the back that looked like a corkscrew, and one in the middle that swiveled.
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
The principal space of the Koolhaas building is the dramatic atrium stair that corkscrews up the front of the building.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Before Kercher’s murder corkscrews their story, “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox” luxuriates in the postcard-perfect view from the apartment Amanda shared with Meredith and two Italian women.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2025
Campione has become known for her unique specialism in dolls, doll houses, automata, birdcages and corkscrews.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2024
At the state’s Enterprise Services Surplus Operations retail store, in Tumwater, Thurston County, bargain hunters could choose from knives, corkscrews, pool cues and other items that have been confiscated by airport security.
From Seattle Times ● May 19, 2024
Overhead, a small dusky-colored bird was flying in marvelous daring corkscrews.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
This part of the ship collapsed as it corkscrewed into the sea floor.
From BBC ● May 17, 2023
They also found that a slightly altered movement, where the invertebrates corkscrewed in mostly one direction, helped create the tangles.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 27, 2023
Hotter days and hotter nights have corkscrewed our weather patterns into spiraling extremes, leaving entire regions around the world jerked from the hottest temperatures they've known to the coldest, from devastating fires to disastrous floods.
From Salon ● May 22, 2022
Tasked with seventh-inning duties and the Dodgers ahead by three runs, he gave up a walk before striking out the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo so emphatically that Perdomo corkscrewed into the dirt.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2022
Outside, Tyrion swallowed a lungful of the cold morning air and began his laborious descent of the steep stone steps that corkscrewed around the exterior of the library tower.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Adding to the problems that Brockway caused for the Vikings was her unique corkscrewing serve.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 19, 2022
Crafting Amy and The Doctor's corkscrewing timeline was terrific practice to adapt this book – which Moffat recently told critics inspired the acclaimed "Doctor Who" episode "The Girl in the Fireplace."
From Salon ● May 15, 2022
With its gently corkscrewing guitar, taut beats and whirring strings, The Turning of Our Bones is inspired by the Famadihana ritual of the Malagasy people, who dance with the corpses of loved ones.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 3, 2020
Like an obsession, it keeps corkscrewing ahead, leaving all kinds of damage in its wake.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 4, 2020
The girl’s voice was corkscrewing right to the middle of her headache.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
