tailspin

[teyl-spin]

noun

1. spin.

2. a sudden and helpless collapse into failure, confusion, or the like.

verb (used without object)

tailspinned, tailspinning 

1. to take or experience a sudden and dramatic downturn.

   After the mill closes, the local economy may tailspin.

tailspin

/ ˈteɪlˌspɪn /

noun

1. aeronautics another name for spin

2. informal,  a state of confusion or panic

Word History and Origins

Origin of tailspin¹

First recorded in 1910–15; tail ¹ + spin

Idioms and Phrases

see go into a tailspin.

Example Sentences

The real crash happened that year, after the Smoot-Hawley tariffs and a series of bank failures, abetted by bad Federal Reserve policy, sent the economy and the market into a tailspin.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

All of which raises a key question for Baltimore: Is the Ravens’ season already in a tailspin or can they rally to defy the odds and claw their way back into contention?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Twelve months later, another pre-All-Star-break tailspin has struck the now defending champions.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

So upset that Attila — a Led Zeppelin-inspired metal band, according to the New York Times — broke up and Joel started boozing, which sent him into a tailspin.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But one twin's diagnosis with acrania — a rare, fatal congenital disorder characterized by the full or partial absence of cranial bones — sent Brandt's world into a grief-stricken tailspin.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• plunge 
• slide