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

In the meantime, Blackpool is stuck in a whirlpool, where cheap accommodation draws in people down on their luck, who in turn place huge strain on local government services.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026

That adds extra freight to his reminder that Katrina’s tragedy was entirely manmade — a whirlpool of failed levees, systems and common bloodthirsty inhumanity.

From Salon • Jul. 25, 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

On a river in Alaska while training I once saw a place where a whirlpool had frozen into a cone, open at the bottom like a beautiful trap waiting to suck the whole team down.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

• eddy
• maelstrom
• vortex