spiral

[ spahy-ruhl ]

/ ˈspaɪ rəl /

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See synonyms for: spiral / spiraled / spiraling / spiralled on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

a helix.

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

a spiral or helical object, formation, or form.

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.

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

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

adjective

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

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

of or of the nature of a spire or coil.

bound with a spiral binding; spiral-bound: a spiral notebook.

verb (used without object), spi·raled, spi·ral·ing or (especially British) spi·ralled, spi·ral·ling.

to take a spiral form or course.

to advance or increase steadily; rise: Costs have been spiraling all year.

Aeronautics. to fly an airplane through a spiral course.

verb (used with object), spi·raled, spi·ral·ing or (especially British) spi·ralled, spi·ral·ling.

to cause to take a spiral form or course.

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Origin of spiral

1545–55; <Medieval Latin spīrālis, equivalent to Latin spīr(a) coil (<Greek speîra anything coiled, wreathed, or twisted; see spire²) + -ālis-al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM spiral

spi·ral·i·ty

[spahy-ral-i-tee], /spaɪˈræl ɪ ti/, nounspi·ral·ly, adverbmul·ti·spi·ral, adjectivenon·spi·ral, adjective, noun

sub·spi·ral, adjectivesub·spi·ral·ly, adverbun·spi·ral, adjectiveun·spi·ral·ly, adverbun·spi·raled, adjectiveun·spi·ralled, adjective

Words nearby spiral

spiny rat, spiny-rayed, spiny-rayed fish, spiracle, spiraea, spiral, spiral arm, spiral bevel gear, spiral binding, spiral-bound, spiral casing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spiral in a sentence

India’s healthcare system has spiralled into total chaos following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Covid-19 is teaching India to use maps to battle the next pandemic|Ananya Bhattacharya|July 30, 2020|Quartz
It’s possible, too, that some of the partisan divides we’re seeing now could start to narrow as outbreaks spiral out of control in states like Arizona, Florida and Texas.
Republicans And Democrats See COVID-19 Very Differently. Is That Making People Sick?|Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux|July 23, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Images from the telescopes show a spiral disk of gas and dust surrounding AB Aurigae.
Developing planet emerges in a swirl of gas|Lisa Grossman|July 6, 2020|Science News For Students
It likely has spiral arms, too, the scientists say — just like the Milky Way.
Oldest disk galaxy puts a new spin on galaxy growth|Lisa Grossman|June 30, 2020|Science News For Students

Our spirals might all trace back to an unexpected influence from cosmic rays.
Cosmic Rays May Explain Life’s Bias for Right-Handed DNA|Charlie Wood|June 29, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The now-convicted felons will hear their sentences in January, but their story continues to spiral downward.
2014 Was a Delectably Good Year for Sleaze|Patricia Murphy|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This downward spiral involving local power politics was obvious to the Americans in the valley.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley|Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Without those subsidies, the worst-case scenario has Obamacare entering a fiscal death spiral.
A Reminder: Our Justices are Politicians in Robes|Jedediah Purdy|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To his fellow survivors and to the audience, this delusion indicates another slip on a downward spiral.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero|Regina Lizik|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2008, it was looking at a death spiral: cut credit ratings, claims on the policies, and collateral calls.
Remember the $182 Billion AIG Bailout? It Just Wasn’t Generous Enough|Daniel Gross|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The organism is an actively motile spiral thread, about four times the diameter of a red corpuscle in length.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
See that silver spiral going out from Venus and around the table to the orbit of Saturn?
Fee of the Frontier|Horace Brown Fyfe
Spirochte pallida is an extremely slender, spiral, motile thread, with pointed ends.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Upon ulcerated surfaces it is often mingled with other spiral micro-organisms, which adds to the difficulty of its detection.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The palpi of the male are in this species each provided with a spiral screw resembling the tendril of a vine.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King

British Dictionary definitions for spiral

spiral

/ (ˈspaɪərəl) /

noun

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)

another name for helix (def. 1)

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

a flight manoeuvre in which an aircraft descends describing a helix of comparatively large radius with the angle of attack within the normal flight rangeCompare spin (def. 16)

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

adjective

having the shape of a spiral

verb -rals, -ralling or -ralled or US -rals, -raling or -raled

to assume or cause to assume a spiral course or shape

(intr) to increase or decrease with steady accelerationwages and prices continue to spiral

Derived forms of spiral

spirally, adverb

Word Origin for spiral

C16: via French from Medieval Latin spīrālis, from Latin spīra a coil; see spire ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

spiral

Origin of spiral

OTHER WORDS FROM spiral

Words nearby spiral

Words related to spiral

How to use spiral in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spiral

Derived forms of spiral

Word Origin for spiral