whirlpool

American  

[hwurl-pool, wurl-] / ˈʰwɜrlˌpul, ˈwɜrl- /

noun

• whirlpools
  plural

1. water in swift, circular motion, as that produced by the meeting of opposing currents, often causing a downward spiraling action.

2. whirlpool bath.

3. Heraldry. gurge.

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whirlpool British  

/ ˈwɜːlˌpuːl /

noun

1. a powerful circular current or vortex of water, usually produced by conflicting tidal currents or by eddying at the foot of a waterfall

2. something resembling a whirlpool in motion or the power to attract into its vortex

3. short for whirlpool bath

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whirlpool Scientific  

/ wûrl′po̅o̅l′ /

1. A rapidly rotating current of water or other liquid that sucks everything near it toward its center. The meeting of two tides can create a whirlpool.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• whirlpools
  plural

Etymology

Origin of whirlpool

1520–30; whirl + pool ¹; compare late Old English hwyrfepōl

Explanation

When two water currents meet, they sometimes form a swirling, circular whirlpool. There are some small but very strong whirlpools at the bottom of Niagara Falls. The way water moves in a circle as it drains out of your bathtub is a smaller version of what a whirlpool looks like in a large body of water. Whirlpools can be dangerous for swimmers and small boats, although larger ships aren't at any real risk of being sucked into a whirlpool, even a particularly large and powerful one — which can also be called a maelstrom.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

whirlpool whirlpools

Travelers in select suites can enjoy private whirlpool spas and outdoor showers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026

And that whirlpool — getting lost in your own head about being the only one who can pull it off — that’s where the danger lies.

From Salon ● May 23, 2025

A boat with one person on board has been towed to safety after breaking down near the Corryvreckan whirlpool in Argyll and Bute.

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2025

Charybdis, a mythical female sea monster, is often depicted as a bottomless sucking whirlpool, but there’s power in accepting your hunger, whether it’s for food or love or armies crossing the sea in boats.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2024

She’d straightened something inside me, and I no longer felt like I was in a whirlpool or walking an ever-tightening spiral.

From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green

The Atlantic island's position in the Hebridean archipelago protects it from the ocean swells, but occasionally brings inhabitants the challenge of navigating the Corryvreckan whirlpools.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2025

These eddies are like giant whirlpools and often reach the abyssal seafloor, resulting in seafloor erosion and large sediment accumulations called contourites, akin to snowdrifts.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024

I managed two exciting trips during its short four-month life, before its magnificent dance in a windstorm and collapse into the whirlpools below on Nov. 7, 1940.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2024

Across the universe, the immense gravitational pull of black holes sucks up whirlpools of gas called accretion disks.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2023

But in several places, the waves swirled and tapered into pinecone-sized whirlpools.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• eddy
• maelstrom
• vortex