spiral

American  

[spahy-ruhl] / ˈspaɪ rəl /

noun

• spirals
  plural

1. Geometry. a plane curve generated by a point moving around a fixed point while constantly receding from or approaching it.

2. a helix.

3. a single circle or ring of a spiral or helical curve or object.

4. a spiral or helical object, formation, or form.

5. Aeronautics. a maneuver in which an airplane descends in a helix of small pitch and large radius, with the angle of attack within that of the normal flight range.

6. Football. a type of kick or pass in which the ball turns on its longer axis as it flies through the air.

7. Economics. a continuous increase in costs, wages, prices, etc. inflationary spiral, or a decrease in costs, wages, prices, etc. deflationary spiral.

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adjective

1. running continuously around a fixed point or center while constantly receding from or approaching it; coiling in a single plane.

   a spiral curve.

2. coiling around a fixed line or axis in a constantly changing series of planes; helical.

3. of or of the nature of a spire or coil.

4. bound with a spiral binding; spiral-bound.

   a spiral notebook.

verb (used without object)

• spirals,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spiraled,
  past participle,  past
• spiralled,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• spiraling,
  present participle
• spiralling
  present participle (especially British)

1. to take a spiral form or course.

2. to advance or increase steadily; rise.

   Costs have been spiraling all year.

3. Aeronautics. to fly an airplane through a spiral course.

verb (used with object)

• spirals,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spiraled,
  past participle,  past
• spiralled,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• spiraling,
  present participle
• spiralling
  present participle (especially British)

1. to cause to take a spiral form or course.

spiral British  

/ ˈspaɪərəl /

noun

1. geometry one of several plane curves formed by a point winding about a fixed point at an ever-increasing distance from it. Polar equation of Archimedes spiral: r = a θ; of logarithmic spiral: log r = a θ; of hyperbolic spiral: r θ = a, (where a is a constant)

2. another name for helix

3. something that pursues a winding, usually upward, course or that displays a twisting form or shape

4. a flight manoeuvre in which an aircraft descends describing a helix of comparatively large radius with the angle of attack within the normal flight range Compare spin

5. economics a continuous upward or downward movement in economic activity or prices, caused by interaction between prices, wages, demand, and production

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adjective

1. having the shape of a spiral

verb

1. to assume or cause to assume a spiral course or shape

2. (intr) to increase or decrease with steady acceleration

   wages and prices continue to spiral

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spirality
  noun
• multispiral
  adjective
• nonspiral
  adjective
• subspiral
  adjective
• unspiral
  adjective
• unspiraled
  adjective
• unspiralled
  adjective
• spirally
  adverb
• subspirally
  adverb
• unspirally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spirals
  plural

Participles

• spiraling
  present
• spiralling
  present
• spiraled
  past
• spiralled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• spiral
  simple
• spirals
  simple
• have spiraled
  perfect
• have spiralled
  perfect
• has spiraled
  perfect
• has spiralled
  perfect
• am spiraling
  progressive
• am spiralling
  progressive
• are spiraling
  progressive
• are spiralling
  progressive
• is spiraling
  progressive
• is spiralling
  progressive
• have been spiraling
  perfect progressive
• have been spiralling
  perfect progressive
• has been spiraling
  perfect progressive
• has been spiralling
  perfect progressive

Past

• spiraled
  simple
• spiralled
  simple
• had spiraled
  perfect
• had spiralled
  perfect
• was spiraling
  progressive
• was spiralling
  progressive
• were spiraling
  progressive
• were spiralling
  progressive
• had been spiraling
  perfect progressive
• had been spiralling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will spiral
  simple
• will have spiraled
  perfect
• will have spiralled
  perfect
• will be spiraling
  progressive
• will be spiralling
  progressive
• will have been spiraling
  perfect progressive
• will have been spiralling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of spiral

1545–55; < Medieval Latin spīrālis, equivalent to Latin spīr ( a ) coil (< Greek speîra anything coiled, wreathed, or twisted; see spire ²) + -ālis -al ¹

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Explanation

A spiral is a coil or curl, like the shape of a piece of hair wound around your finger, a Slinky toy, or a corkscrew. A curve forming a series of circles that become gradually larger or smaller is one kind of spiral. You can also use the word as a verb when something moves in a spiral shape: "Then the wind died and I watched my kite spiral down to the ground." The origin of spiral is the Medieval Latin spiralis, which means "winding or coiling," from a Greek root: speira, "coil, twist, or wreath."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spiral spirals spiraled spiralled spiraling spiralling

The motor's central component is a specially designed spiral molecule created by the research group of Prof. Michael Pittelkow at the University of Copenhagen.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026

No-one with a spiral bomb like she produced in the 2025 Rugby World Cup final is going to fade into the shadows.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Many businesses seeking short-term help instead fall into a debt-driven death spiral.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

The union’s membership would spiral downward until Chávez’s death, at 66, in 1993.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Inside would be a spiral staircase around a stone column.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Other countries have fallen victim to debt spirals, where high levels of debt lead investors to demand higher interest rates, in turn fueling more borrowing until eventually a country defaults.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Roll it out cinnamon-roll style, spread with cream cheese, Parmesan, herbs and hot giardiniera, then coil, slice and nestle the spirals together in a buttered skillet.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

"I have a two or three-part storyline where a dog is let loose into the House of Lords by a lobbyist during a vet bill and that spirals out of control," Brewis said.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Over time, the disk spirals inward, causing the wobble to speed up.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

Most of the towers had completely tumbled down, crushing the castle below, while the beautiful spirals of ice had crumbled in several places, parts of them whipping through the air, carried by the biting wind.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

Student protests spiraled into riots earlier this month, further unnerving investors and households.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Material pulled from the star formed a disk around the black hole and became intensely hot as it spiraled inward.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

Commentators draw parallels with other intractable conflicts, and count the taxpayer money they say has spiraled down the drain.

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026

But where other artists might have spiraled, White and his compatriots transcended, turning inward while also looking to the stars.

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026

Suddenly she spread her wings, was lifted by an updraft of wind, and spiraled skyward on a warm thermal.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

As the haze spiralled into yet another crisis for Prabowo's beleaguered administration, some officials pushed back against criticism.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

She was receiving £360 a month in Universal Credit, but with rent at £460, plus utility bills, council tax and living costs, her total debt spiralled to about £4,000.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

The campaigns come one year after protests over lavish perks for lawmakers spiralled into general anti-government anger -- Indonesia's biggest unrest since President Prabowo Subianto took office in 2024.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

"I needed therapy because my mental health had spiralled way out of control... but I never understood why," said Mellissa.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

They emerged and flew about in the way of flies, in great, lazy orbits except when they came close to each other, when they spiralled together with dizzying speed and a burst of buzzing.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

And now a global energy mess is spiraling and ensnaring more countries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

Their stock prices have been plunging for months, as the war in Iran has sent inflation and mortgage rates spiraling upward.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

The writing grows spiraling and obsessive as it develops each possibility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

In satellite images nor'easters can look strikingly like a hurricane, with spiraling clouds forming over the ocean that span hundreds of miles of coastline.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

I slip the note into my backpack and find my mood spiraling even further downward.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

But the law has not stopped the spiralling prices and popular discontent.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

Ghana turned to the IMF amid spiralling debt, soaring inflation and a plunging currency, and subsequently secured a $3 billion programme in 2023.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

What leverage does Canada, which sells about 70% of its goods to the US, actually have in this spiralling trade dispute with its southern neighbour, who also happens to be the world's largest economy?

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The phenomenon happens when fluids - in this case hot gases - slide past each other and cause small disturbances to grow into spiralling vortices.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Three paper aeroplanes were already spiralling upward in the breeze, heading to gods knew where.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

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Related Words

• circling
• coiled

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