spiral
Americannoun
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Geometry. a plane curve generated by a point moving around a fixed point while constantly receding from or approaching it.
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a helix.
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a single circle or ring of a spiral or helical curve or object.
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a spiral or helical object, formation, or form.
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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.
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Football. a type of kick or pass in which the ball turns on its longer axis as it flies through the air.
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Economics. a continuous increase in costs, wages, prices, etc. inflationary spiral, or a decrease in costs, wages, prices, etc. deflationary spiral.
adjective
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running continuously around a fixed point or center while constantly receding from or approaching it; coiling in a single plane.
a spiral curve.
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coiling around a fixed line or axis in a constantly changing series of planes; helical.
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of or of the nature of a spire or coil.
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bound with a spiral binding; spiral-bound.
a spiral notebook.
verb (used without object)
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to take a spiral form or course.
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to advance or increase steadily; rise.
Costs have been spiraling all year.
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Aeronautics. to fly an airplane through a spiral course.
verb (used with object)
noun
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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)
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another name for helix
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something that pursues a winding, usually upward, course or that displays a twisting form or shape
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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
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economics a continuous upward or downward movement in economic activity or prices, caused by interaction between prices, wages, demand, and production
adjective
verb
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to assume or cause to assume a spiral course or shape
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(intr) to increase or decrease with steady acceleration
wages and prices continue to spiral
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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spiralitynoun
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multispiraladjective
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nonspiraladjective
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subspiraladjective
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unspiraladjective
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unspiraledadjective
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unspiralledadjective
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spirallyadverb
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subspirallyadverb
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unspirallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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spiralsimple
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spiralssimple
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have spiraledperfect
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have spiralledperfect
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has spiraledperfect
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has spiralledperfect
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am spiralingprogressive
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am spirallingprogressive
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are spiralingprogressive
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are spirallingprogressive
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is spiralingprogressive
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is spirallingprogressive
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have been spiralingperfect progressive
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have been spirallingperfect progressive
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has been spiralingperfect progressive
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has been spirallingperfect progressive
Past
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spiraledsimple
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spiralledsimple
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had spiraledperfect
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had spiralledperfect
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was spiralingprogressive
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was spirallingprogressive
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were spiralingprogressive
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were spirallingprogressive
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had been spiralingperfect progressive
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had been spirallingperfect progressive
Future
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
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."
Vocabulary lists containing spiral
American Football, 1st Quarter
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myPerspectives 8.4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Analysts worry the steady ratcheting higher could set off an escalatory spiral.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
He doesn’t care if housing prices spiral upward and out of control.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
The spiral is accelerated by crowded trades and herding behavior, such as exchange-traded funds and quantitative trend-following models.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Another image offers a fresh view of the spiral galaxy NGC 4736, better known as Messier 94.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 4, 2026
Her talon came to rest at the heart of the spiral.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Over time, the disk spirals inward, causing the wobble to speed up.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
His all-Oxford intellectual formation comes out of the post-“Great Financial Crisis” macro-finance school that views financial crises as driven by leverage cycles, liquidity spirals and risk-taking channels as much as by the traditional business cycle.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
Whether this outbreak can be quickly contained or spirals into a repeat of what happened just over a decade ago will be determined by the response now.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Iran’s rulers had approached previous conflicts with the U.S. and Israel with measured responses aimed at avoiding escalatory spirals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026
It was a double fence, actually—two high chain-link barriers topped with spirals of gleaming razor ribbon and a kind of no-man’s-land in the eight or nine feet of ground between them.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Commentators draw parallels with other intractable conflicts, and count the taxpayer money they say has spiraled down the drain.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026
Fernando Guerra, a political science professor at Loyola Marymount University, said Pratt seems to have tapped into a deep well of discontent among Angelenos who believe that crime and homeless have spiraled out of control.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
At last year’s staging of “A Streetcar Named Desire” with Paul Mescal, theatergoers were positively tickled as Blanche DuBois spiraled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Hernández asked to call his fiancee, “and the situation spiraled out of hand,” according to Kolasinski.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
It was hard to live through the early 1940s in France and not have the war be the center from which the rest of your life spiraled.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
When Dean's debts spiralled to unmanageable levels, it was not one single event that had fuelled the crisis, but an accumulation.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
The conflict has since spiralled into Europe's deadliest since World War II.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
Talks on ending what has spiralled into Europe's worst conflict since World War II have shown little progress and have been sidelined by the Iran conflict.
From Barron's ● May 7, 2026
"We need to try to get some control over costs in the Championship which have just spiralled beyond all reason," he told BBC Radio Solent.
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2026
Then their sire launched himself upward and spiralled into the night.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Get some clarity on a wild Supreme Court term: Sometimes the best way to stop spiraling about the news is to debrief with smart friends.
From Slate ● Jul. 9, 2026
His beloved Knicks winning the championship, he said, kept him from spiraling over the book.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
But such events are also drawing the working and middle classes, who bust open savings and borrow money to afford spiraling prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Apple said Thursday it was raising prices for its MacBook computers, iPad tablets and other products, citing spiraling memory and storage costs sparked by the rise of artificial intelligence.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Petey gave the fire a sharp stab, sending sparks spiraling into the air.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at Forex.com, said: "One can easily imagine the situation spiralling quite rapidly."
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
President Volodymyr Zelensky will skip this year's Ukraine Recovery Conference hosted in Poland, Kyiv announced Tuesday, amid a spiralling diplomatic spat between the allies and neighbours over World War II memory.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
England are in a dire position against New Zealand after spiralling from a chaotic morning on day two of the second Test at The Oval.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
While Malta's economy grew 4.0 percent last year, there are concerns the conflict in the Middle East could have an impact on tourism due to spiralling aviation fuel costs, and drive up inflation.
From Barron's ● May 31, 2026
Three paper aeroplanes were already spiralling upward in the breeze, heading to gods knew where.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
