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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

A cork is when a spin is combined with a flip, resulting in an 'off-axis' direction of travel resembling a corkscrew.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

This time I swam the corkscrew, a crazy stroke my kids learned at summer camp, where you do a freestyle stroke, roll into a back stroke, then over again into a freestyle stroke.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025

Many microorganisms also spin and corkscrew through water, but the mechanisms behind the salps' motion are different.

From Science Daily • May 15, 2024

The stairwell was a cramped corkscrew of masonry, no more than six feet in diameter.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

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.