spiral
adjective
spi·ral
| \ ˈspī-rəl
\
\
Definition of spiral
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a
: winding around a center or pole and gradually receding from or approaching it
the spiral curve of a watch spring
b
: helical
c
: spiral-bound
a spiral notebook
2
: of or relating to the advancement to higher levels through a series of cyclical movements
spiral
nounDefinition of spiral (Entry 2 of 3)
1a
: the path of a point in a plane moving around a central point while continuously receding from or approaching it
b
: a three-dimensional curve (such as a helix) with one or more turns about an axis
2
: a single turn or coil in a spiral object
3
: something having a spiral form as:
a
: spiral galaxy
b(1)
: a spiral flight
(2)
: a kick or pass in which a football rotates on its long axis while moving through the air
4
: a continuously spreading and accelerating increase or decrease
wage spirals
spiral
verb
spiraled
or spiralled;
spiraling
or spiralling
Definition of spiral (Entry 3 of 3)
: to go and especially to rise or fall in a spiral course
costs spiraled upward
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Other Words from spiral
Adjective
spirally
\ ˈspī-rə-lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
Synonyms for spiral
Synonyms: Adjective
coiling, corkscrew, helical, involute, screwlike, winding
Synonyms: Verb
coil, corkscrew, curl, entwine, twine, twist, wind
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Examples of spiral in a Sentence
Adjective
a spiral staircase takes visitors up into the Statue of LibertyNoun
The glider flew in a wide spiral over the field. The quarterback threw a tight spiral to the receiver.Verb
Smoke spiraled up from the chimney. The airplane spiraled to the ground and crashed. The unemployment rate has been spiraling upward. The stock market is spiraling downward. Let's deal with this crisis before it spirals out of control.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
The spiral staircase or the roof terrace’s sliding doors lend themselves to an organic, almost sensual flow. — Vogue, "With a New Dance Series, Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye Becomes an Unlikely Stage," 23 Aug. 2019 The library’s two other floors, which are connected by a spiral staircase embossed with a selection of Finnish words, are devoted to nonliterary and extra-literary pursuits. — Gordon F. Sander, The Christian Science Monitor, "Welcome to Oodi: Helsinki’s new ‘living room’," 24 Jan. 2019 The Guardian’s Davis reports that the youngest stars are closer to the galactic center while the older ones are farther out in the spiral arms. — Smithsonian, "New 3D Map Shows Milky Way’s Big Twist," 3 Aug. 2019 This indicates that Cepheids located there must have formed around the same time in one of the spiral arms. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "New map of the Milky Way provides more evidence that it's warped and twisted," 2 Aug. 2019 Aside from the spiral staircase, big yellow water tanks are the only other things inside. — Mckenna Oxenden, baltimoresun.com, "You asked: What’s at the top of that weird spire in Baltimore’s skyline? We took a reader up to find out.," 25 July 2019 Children clambered up the spiral staircase to see if there was a princess in the tower. — New York Times, "Central Park’s Castle Gets a $12 Million Fairy-Tale Makeover," 12 July 2019 As a craftsman, he’s built spiral staircases, cabinetry, wooden helicopter blades, bows and arrows, and Civil War replica firearms. — Patrick Raycraft, courant.com, "Farmington’s Ed Bassett builds violins by hand, hour by hour, crafting masterpieces to last a lifetime," 11 July 2019 Public statements from Beijing marked a shift in Chinese leaders’ attitude toward the crisis in the semiautonomous territory, indicating they may be forced to step in if events spiral on. — Chun Han Wong, WSJ, "China Hardens Line on Hong Kong Protests, Hinting It Could Intervene," 2 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Everything seemed so wondrous, on an endless upward spiral. — National Geographic, "How the Titanic was lost and found," 22 Aug. 2019 That downward spiral probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise. — Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, "Wild captain Mikko Koivu expects to be ready for training camp," 22 Aug. 2019 That, coupled with the destruction of flood plains and other habitat, sent the fabled run on a long downward spiral. — Los Angeles Times, "A report shows Trump’s water plan would hurt California salmon. The government hid it," 21 Aug. 2019 Zimbabwe is locked in a downward spiral, fears Derek Matyszak of the Institute for Security Studies, a think-tank. — The Economist, "Zimbabwe faces its worst economic crisis in a decade," 15 Aug. 2019 Landlords cut back on maintenance of their apartments and hotels during the Depression, a lower class of tenants began to move in, and a downward spiral ensued. — Gary Kamiya, SFChronicle.com, "San Francisco scenic treasure that locals overlook," 28 June 2019 Look back: The Tar Heels had been on a downward spiral the past few years, with Larry Fedora’s final season ending with a disappointing 2-9 record. — Chaunte'l Powell, orlandosentinel.com, "2019 College Football Rankings: UNC brings back Mack Brown to get Tar Heels back on track," 17 June 2019 The wallflower turns into the belle of the ball and starts to realize her ambitions, but also unwittingly sets off a bloody spiral of contagion. — Clark Collis, EW.com, "Rabid remake gets disturbing first trailer," 4 July 2019 The Phillies came into this matchup amid a June spiral of their own after going 6–14 on the month and were fading fast in the NL East. — Jon Tayler, SI.com, "Mets Reach New Low in the Four Games Following the Callaway-Vargas Fiasco," 28 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Then, over the course of Clarke’s senior year, undiagnosed mental health problems sent him spiraling into addiction. — Rebecca Tan, Longreads, "Paul Clarke Wants to Live," 3 Sep. 2019 The protests were sparked in response to a government proposal that would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China, but soon spiraled into a larger movement demanding more democracy in the semi-autonomous region of China. — Time Staff, Time, "Hong Kong Protesters Bring Airport to Standstill as Anger Grows Over Police Violence," 12 Aug. 2019 On North Ronaldsay and elsewhere, business boomed—until the early 1800s, when mineral deposits discovered in Germany sent Orkney’s kelp industry spiralling. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "A Remote Scottish Island Needs Help Protecting Its Seaweed-Eating Sheep," 27 June 2019 Who, if anyone, seems qualified to stall America’s spiraling descent into a fiery wasteland overseen by Trumpian kleptocrats? — The New Republic, "Welcome to TNR’s coverage of the Democratic debates.," 26 June 2019 But at the end of this season’s second episode, one of those sneaky little lies reared its head and Ed was dealt a blow almost as bad as the one that sent Perry (Alexander Skarsgård) spiraling down the stairs. — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, "Big Little Lies' Adam Scott on Madeline's huge betrayal, the 'extremely dangerous' Mary Louise," 17 June 2019 Plans for a $250 million renovation failed to gain traction in the legislature as the state faced a spiraling deficit. — Kenneth R. Gosselin, courant.com, "As state searches for plan to fix Hartford’s aging XL Center arena, a casino emerges as one possible solution," 5 Aug. 2019 Nonetheless, the lawsuit, along with a similar one filed in 2016 and a federal investigation into price-fixing allegations, have rocked the generic drug industry, long regarded as consumers’ haven from the spiraling prices of name-brand medicines. — Ben Elginbloomberg, Los Angeles Times, "Price of an OCD drug jumped 1,200%. State attorneys general blame price fixing," 2 Aug. 2019 But for civilians caught in Afghanistan’s spiraling conflict, the road between life and death is narrow — and often mined. — New York Times, "For Afghan Civilians, Road Between Life and Death Is Narrow — and Mined," 31 July 2019