tailspin
Americannoun
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spin.
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a sudden and helpless collapse into failure, confusion, or the like.
verb (used without object)
noun
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aeronautics another name for spin
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informal a state of confusion or panic
Etymology
Origin of tailspin
Explanation
When a plane goes into a tailspin, it rotates as it dives toward the ground. While pilots sometimes go into a deliberate tailspin, an unexpected tailspin would be terrifying. Because of the dramatic nature of an aircraft's tailspin, the word is also used figuratively to mean "a chaotic or panicked situation or state." Getting terrible news sends some people into a tailspin, while others are able to somehow stay calm. The word dates from about 1915, and the figurative meaning first appeared in print in the 1930s.
Vocabulary lists containing tailspin
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.
Many families also said that they had been thrown into a tailspin, trying to arrange for weeks of childcare to cover the early finish.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
The return of market volatility or a technological setback could immediately send the stocks into a tailspin.
From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026
In its last quarter, Disney saw its profitability fall below expectations despite record revenue at several of its segments, largely due to higher costs, which sent the stock into a tailspin.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
This seemed unlikely on April’s “Liberation Day,” when new tariffs sent markets into a tailspin.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026
Like a pilot dipping the plane into a tailspin to practice pulling back out, she would deliberately take photos out of focus, with the wrong shutter speed or the wrong ISO, to see what happened.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
