a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool.
a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs.
the maelstrom of early morning traffic.
(initial capital letter) a famous hazardous whirlpool off the NW coast of Norway.
a large powerful whirlpool
any turbulent confusion
1550–60 maelstrom for def. 3; < early Dutch maelstroom, now spelling maalstroom, representing mal ( en ) to grind + stroom stream. See meal 2, stream
A maelstrom is a powerful whirlpool. A luckless ship might go down in one, and conflicting ocean currents might cause one. These days, you're more likely to hear maelstrom used metaphorically to describe disasters where many competing forces are at play. When an economy or a government fails, the situation is often described as a maelstrom. Following some precipitous event, all the forces at play — banks, governments, consumers — are trying as hard as they can to protect themselves. This creates a maelstrom — a perfect storm, so to speak — that drags any potential for rescue down with it. Maelstrom comes from an obsolete Dutch phrase meaning "whirling stream."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart found himself at the center of a cultural maelstrom after appearing on stage with Trump in upstate New York last month.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
Her take is a maelstrom of splendid beauty and doomed love, colliding at a feverish pace that makes the fidelity to Brontë’s book moot.
From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026
Amid the maelstrom of the closing minutes in Cardiff there was a slightly comedic moment.
From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026
The country of 52 million, with the world’s No. 14 economy, has emerged from the maelstrom of 2025 in a geoeconomic sweet spot.
From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025
The giant iron monster opened its mouth wide—wider than a mouth should ever, ever open—and it bellowed, allowing a maelstrom of brand flies dripping with green venom to erupt from its mouth.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
