death spiral

American

noun

(in pair skating) a dramatic movement in which the man spins his partner around him in a gradually increasing radius while he spins in place, holding the extended arm of the woman, who revolves around him on one skate with the other leg stretched out and gradually lowers herself backward until she is just above the ice surface.

Example Sentences

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death spiral

As every expert knows, voluntary health programs are killed by an adverse-selection death spiral.

From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026

The rate of attrition, or the number of service members leaving the military, has also declined slightly, after being described as causing "a death spiral" by former Defence Minister Bill Blair in 2024.

From BBC ● May 9, 2026

Michael Burry, the entrepreneur who gained fame for spotting the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, fanned fears on Monday as he flagged a possible "death spiral" for bitcoin.

From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026

A death spiral ultimately did it in: Unpaid suppliers cut shipments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

But don’t worry, I’m not going to mark this anniversary by rambling on and on about the death spiral, other than to remind you to renew your subscription immediately.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2025

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023