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• maelstrom
  maelstrom

  noun

  a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool.
• Maelstrom
  Maelstrom

  noun

  a strong tidal current in a restricted channel in the Lofoten Islands off the NW coast of Norway

maelstrom

American  

[mayl-struhm] / ˈmeɪl strəm /

noun

1. a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool.

2. a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs.

   the maelstrom of early morning traffic.

   Synonyms:

   bedlam, pandemonium, tumult

3. (initial capital letter) a famous hazardous whirlpool off the NW coast of Norway.

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maelstrom ¹ British  

/ ˈmeɪlstrəʊm /

noun

1. a large powerful whirlpool

2. any turbulent confusion

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Maelstrom ² British  

/ ˈmeɪlstrəʊm /

noun

1. a strong tidal current in a restricted channel in the Lofoten Islands off the NW coast of Norway

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Etymology

Origin of maelstrom

1550–60 maelstrom for def. 3; < early Dutch maelstroom, now spelling maalstroom, representing mal ( en ) to grind + stroom stream. See meal ², stream

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Explanation

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

maelstrom Maelstrom

Into this maelstrom of social jockeying Dostoevsky cast the gentle Prince Myshkin, whose lack of guile makes him a figure of fun among the vain and calculating people he encounters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

The gossamer thread holding the sacred feminine maelstrom together?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

"Red card for Infantino" writes the Daily Mirror, spotlighting the man at the centre of the maelstrom: Fifa boss Gianni Infantino.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

In a maelstrom, one might think such niggling questions of jurisdiction and their attendant turf wars would be set aside.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Roger tugged Billy Costa’s arm and soon all three of them were together in a maelstrom of running children.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

DoorDasher Maelstrom Pullman relies heavily on tips to make delivery driving worth the effort.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 1, 2022

“I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition’s flames before I give him up.’

From Washington Times ● Feb. 6, 2018

"Nixon eschewed policy specifics, relying instead on what one reporter called 'oratory so evenhanded as to be meaningless,'" Michael Cohen writes in "American Maelstrom," his excellent history of the 1968 campaign.

From US News ● Jul. 22, 2016

Legendary Pictures will produce Maelstrom with Upper Room Productions, the company Boyega set up earlier this year with agent Femi Oguns.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2016

Maelstrom, māl′strom, n. a celebrated whirlpool off the coast of Norway: any resistless overpowering influence for destruction.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

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Related Words

• chaos
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• turmoil

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