spin-out

Or spin·out

[spin-out]

noun

1. the spinning out of control into a rotating skid of a car or other vehicle.

spin out

verb

1. to extend or protract (a story, etc) by including superfluous detail; prolong

2. to spend or pass (time)

3. to contrive to cause (money, etc) to last as long as possible

noun

1. a spinning skid in a car that causes it to run off the road

Word History and Origins

Origin of spin out¹

First recorded in 1950–55; noun use of verb phrase spin out

Idioms and Phrases

Protract or prolong, as in They spun out the negotiations over a period of months . This idiom alludes to drawing out a thread by spinning. [c. 1600]

Rotate out of control, as in The car spun out and crashed into the store window . [Mid-1900s]

Related Words

• cover 
• develop 
• draw 
• expand 
• fill 
• go 
• grow 
• lengthen 
• open 
• pull 
• reach 
• run 
• span 
• spread 
• strain 
• swell 
• unfold 
• widen