helix

American  

[hee-liks] / ˈhi lɪks /

noun

• helices,
  plural
• helixes
  plural

1. a spiral.

2. Geometry. the curve formed by a straight line drawn on a plane when that plane is wrapped around a cylindrical surface of any kind, especially a right circular cylinder, as the curve of a screw. Equation: x = a sinθ, y = a cosθ, z = b θ.

3. Architecture.

   1. a spiral ornament.

   2. (in a Corinthian capital) either of two scrolls issuing from a cauliculus.

4. Anatomy. the curved fold forming most of the rim of the external ear.

5. Biochemistry. alpha helix.

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helix British  

/ ˈhiːlɪks /

noun

1. a curve that lies on a cylinder or cone, at a constant angle to the line segments making up the surface; spiral

2. a spiral shape or form

3. the incurving fold that forms the margin of the external ear

4. another name for volute

5. any terrestrial gastropod mollusc of the genus Helix, which includes the garden snail ( H. aspersa )

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helix Scientific  

/ hē′lĭks /

1. A three-dimensional spiral curve. In mathematical terms, a helix can be described as a curve turning about an axis on the surface of a cylinder or cone while rising at a constant upward angle from a base.

2. Something, such as a strand of DNA, having a spiral shape.

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helix Cultural  

1. In geometry, a three-dimensional spiral shape, resembling a spring.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• helices
  plural
• helixes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of helix

1555–65; < Latin: a spiral, a kind of ivy < Greek hélix anything twisted; compare helíssein to turn, twist, roll

Explanation

A helix is a twisted, spiral shape, like a corkscrew. In math, a helix is defined as "a curve in three-dimensional space." If you have ever seen a spiral staircase, you can envision the shape of a helix. To picture the shape of a helix, imagine the coil of a spring inside a sofa, or the shape the threads of a screw make, curling in a spiral. When you hear the word helix, you may think of a double helix, which resembles two interconnected spirals and describes the shape of human DNA. In both Latin and Greek, helix means "spiral" or "spiral-shaped thing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

helix helices helixes

We transformed the Supreme Court’s “Nothing to see here” into an avowal of the freedom to marry under the Constitution’s double helix of liberty and equality for all.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

And so it goes in “The Last Kings of Hollywood,” as the lives and ambitions of Messrs. Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg entwine around one another in a triple helix.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

You can look at friendship as a journey that is like a double helix: Sometimes you and a friend will be in sync financially or emotionally, and other times you’ll be out of alignment.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 28, 2026

Electric current flowed more easily in one direction, and the effect could be reversed by changing the magnetization or switching the handedness of the helix.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 25, 2026

Remarkably, the three R’s of gene physiology are acutely dependent on the molecular structure of DNA—on the Watson-Crick base pairing of the double helix.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

His lab manipulated DNA molecules to make the tiny motor's turbine, which consisted of 30 double-stranded DNA helices engineered into an axle and three blades of about 72 base pair length.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 19, 2024

Collins: You’re talking about genetic determinism, which implies that we are helpless marionettes being controlled by strings made of double helices.

From Scientific American ● May 20, 2020

“But I think the most surprising observation was that the proteins were embedded among the RNA helices, penetrating into the interior of the ribosome like tentacles.”

From Washington Post ● Oct. 11, 2018

For one thing, it draws a brilliant, eclectic crowd: I met a linguist turned classical musician, a minimalist sculptor fascinated by helices and a Jungian writer at work on a dystopian novel.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2018

From the car window, Lourdes saw the island’s wounded landscapes, its helices of palms.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

Traditionally, hosts serve visitors bowls of dried fruits and nuts: floral-scented green raisins, apricots twisted into sugary helixes, pistachios fat like rosebuds about to bloom.

From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2023

The best designs were made of three helixes connected like sausage links by short strings of amino acids.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 22, 2021

For now, these protein helixes can’t convey genetic information that cells can read.

From Science Magazine ● Jul. 21, 2016

But Mariana Medina-Sánchez, one of the researchers, cautioned that further research is needed to make sure the helixes aren’t harmful.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2016

All of the papers fold themselves into elaborate shapes: pyramids and helixes and paper birds with rustling wings.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• arc
• arch
• contour
• loop
• trajectory