vortex
Americannoun
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vortices,
plural
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vortexes
plural
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a whirling mass of water, especially one in which a force of suction operates, as a whirlpool.
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a whirling mass of air, especially one in the form of a visible column or spiral, as a tornado.
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a whirling mass of fire, flame, etc.
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a state of affairs likened to a whirlpool for violent activity, irresistible force, etc.
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something regarded as drawing into its powerful current everything that surrounds it.
the vortex of war.
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(in Cartesian philosophy) a rapid rotatory movement of cosmic matter about a center, regarded as accounting for the origin or phenomena of bodies or systems of bodies in space.
noun
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a whirling mass or rotary motion in a liquid, gas, flame, etc, such as the spiralling movement of water around a whirlpool
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any activity, situation, or way of life regarded as irresistibly engulfing
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vortexes
plural
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A circular, spiral, or helical motion in a fluid (such as a gas) or the fluid in such a motion. A vortex often forms around areas of low pressure and attracts the fluid (and the objects moving within it) toward its center. Tornados are examples of vortexes; vortexes that form around flying objects are a source of turbulence and drag.
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See also eddy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of vortex
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin, variant of vertex vertex
Explanation
Think vortex and picture a tornado or whirlpool — swirling around, causing destruction. If you picture a whirlpool spinning and draining like water out of a bathtub, you'll get a pretty good impression of what a vortex looks like. Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz found out first-hand the meaning of vortex as she and her house whirled around in the funnel cloud of a tornado. In a figurative sense, vortex can be used to talk about something that seems like it is whirling out of control, all consuming, or chaotic. This may include exam week, your relationships, or your life in general.
Vocabulary lists containing vortex
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Wintry Words
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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:
This might be because the Integratron was apparently built on a geomagnetic vortex.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Eyewitness footage from the region captured the swirling vortex of the tornado looming in the horizon above houses and trees.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Until that inevitable conclusion, I’ll be rooting for Max Cady’s campaign against the Bowdens’ vortex of selfishness, which is entirely OK to do.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
The importance of frequent-flier points also would shock analysts emerging from a time vortex.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
A swirling vortex had opened in the center of the game’s monitor, and it was sucking in bits of trash, paper cups, bowling shoes—everything that wasn’t nailed down.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
"So you get these big vortexes, it's quite intense, with these outbursts of activity."
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2025
Its three suns move and align in such a way as to create regular but random apocalyptic events, from infernal heat to sudden ice ages to gravitational vortexes, that destroy the civilization again and again.
From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2024
Their findings revealed that swimmers can utilize water flow and vortexes more effectively as their speed increases.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2024
Sedona’s energy vortexes beckon droves of spiritual seekers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 30, 2023
Little vortexes of dust spiral around the block as I step down from the trailer with my parents.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Zooming in on the Sun's surface, the team captured a detailed view of swirling vortices.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 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
Magnetic vortices form in ultrathin disks made of materials like nickel-iron, often just micrometers or even nanometers in size.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2026
In this case, the researchers found that magnetic vortices can naturally produce Floquet states when magnons are sufficiently energized.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2026
Adam’s irises were light blue with dark radial lines leading into the vortices of his pupils.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
