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Showing results for corkscrew. Search instead for corkscrewed.
Synonyms

corkscrew

American  
[kawrk-skroo] / ˈkɔrkˌskru /

noun

  1. an instrument typically consisting of a metal spiral with a sharp point at one end and a transverse handle at the other, used for drawing corks from bottles.

adjective

  1. resembling a corkscrew; helical; spiral.

verb (used with or without object)

  1. to move in a spiral or zigzag course.

corkscrew British  
/ ˈkɔːkˌskruː /

noun

  1. a device for drawing corks from bottles, typically consisting of a pointed metal spiral attached to a handle or screw mechanism

  2. slang boxing a blow that ends with a twist of the fist, esp one intended to cut the opponent

  3. (modifier) resembling a corkscrew in shape

"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

verb

  1. to move or cause to move in a spiral or zigzag course

"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

Etymology

Origin of corkscrew

First recorded in 1805–15; cork + screw

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.

She is a fashionable woman, with corkscrew curls coming down in front of her ears.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

With her electric green eyes, corkscrew hair and husky contralto voice, Dame Cleo became the most recognisable British jazz singer in history.

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2025

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

Where shorter colonies spun around an axis, like a spiraling football, longer chains would buckle and coil like a corkscrew.

From Science Daily • May 15, 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

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.