Spiral Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of spiral ; winding around a center or pole and gradually receding from or approaching it the spiral curve of a watch spring ; b · helical ; c · spiral- ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut spiral adjective SaveWord spi·​ral |\ˈspī-rəl \ Definitionofspiral (Entry1of3) 1a :windingaroundacenterorpoleandgraduallyrecedingfromorapproachingit thespiralcurveofawatchspring b :helical c :spiral-bound aspiralnotebook 2 :oforrelatingtotheadvancementtohigherlevelsthroughaseriesofcyclicalmovements spiral noun Definitionofspiral (Entry2of3) 1a :thepathofapointinaplanemovingaroundacentralpointwhilecontinuouslyrecedingfromorapproachingit b :athree-dimensionalcurve(suchasahelix)withoneormoreturnsaboutanaxis 2 :asingleturnorcoilinaspiralobject 3 :somethinghavingaspiralformas: a :spiralgalaxy b(1) :aspiralflight (2) :akickorpassinwhichafootballrotatesonitslongaxiswhilemovingthroughtheair 4 :acontinuouslyspreadingandacceleratingincreaseordecrease wagespirals spiral verb spiraledorspiralled;spiralingorspiralling Definitionofspiral (Entry3of3) intransitiveverb :togoandespeciallytoriseorfallinaspiralcourse costsspiraledupward transitiveverb 1 :toformintoaspiral 2 :tocausetospiral OtherWordsfromspiral Synonyms MoreExampleSentences PhrasesContainingspiral LearnMoreAboutspiral OtherWordsfromspiral Adjective spirally \ ˈspī-​rə-​lē \ adverb Synonymsforspiral Synonyms:Adjective coiling, corkscrew, helical, involute, screwlike, winding Synonyms:Verb coil, corkscrew, curl, entwine, twine, twist, wind VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofspiralinaSentence Adjective aspiralstaircasetakesvisitorsupintotheStatueofLiberty Noun Thegliderflewinawidespiraloverthefield. Thequarterbackthrewatightspiraltothereceiver. Verb Smokespiraledupfromthechimney. Theairplanespiraledtothegroundandcrashed. Theunemploymentratehasbeenspiralingupward. Thestockmarketisspiralingdownward. Let'sdealwiththiscrisisbeforeitspiralsoutofcontrol. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Adjective Gianthoneybeesnestingonopencombsrepelpredatorywaspsbyformingspiralwavesthatspreadthroughtheswarmwithinmilliseconds. — VanessaGregory,Harper’sMagazine ,16Feb.2022 ThetrackattheYanqingNationalSlidingCentre,some50milesnorthwestofBeijing,has16curvesincludinga360-degreespiralturn. — GeorgiKantchev,WSJ,13Feb.2022 CombiningJimmyChoo'sartfuldesignswithMugler'sheritagedetails,thelineupfeatureskeypieceslikesockbootiesthatmirrortheluxuryhouse'sdistinctspiraldesign. — ShelbyYingHyde,Harper'sBAZAAR,9Feb.2022 Butcoprolitestypicallyboastspiralorannularmarkingsand,asAnningdiscovered,oftencontainundigestedfragmentsoffood. — JenniferOuellette,ArsTechnica,5Feb.2022 Totheleft,aspiralstair-caseleadsuptoasecondlevel. — SeijaRankin,EW.com,3Feb.2022 Thatincludeddetailslikethemagnificentmarblespiralstaircase,withitsornateblack-and-gold-leafwrought-ironbalustrade,thatsoarsupwardsfromthefirst-floorgardenleveltothethirdlevel. — HowardWalker,RobbReport,1Feb.2022 NorthernicecapsontheRedPlanetappearasfrosty,spiraltroughs,reminiscentofEarth'sNorthPole. — ElizabethGamillo,SmithsonianMagazine,6Jan.2022 There’salsoalivingroomwithabarandfireplace,billiardsroom,aformalsittingroomandatwo-storylibrarywithasteelspiralstaircaseandastainedglasslightfixtures. — EmmaReynolds,RobbReport,11Feb.2022 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun TreasurySecretaryJanetYellenandFederalReserveChairmanJeromePowellhavebothrecentlycontendedthattherewasnoevidenceofanemergingwage-pricespiral. — TimothyNoah,TheNewRepublic,14Feb.2022 There’snowaytopulloutofthatspiralwithoutaclearplan,andasuperintendentwiththelongevityandpatiencetosticktoit. — YvonneAbraham,BostonGlobe.com,12Feb.2022 Wasthisthebeginningofanextendeddownwardspiral? — ErickaAndersen,NationalReview,6Feb.2022 Someanalystsalsowarnofapotentialescalatoryspiral. — NewYorkTimes,29Jan.2022 Inthethirdquarter,wagesandsalariesclimbedatthefastestpaceonrecorddatingbacktwodecades,raisingconcernsofawage-pricespiralthatcouldbedifficulttocontain. — PaulDavidson,USATODAY,26Jan.2022 Thedynamicofhigherwagesandpricescouldfurtherstokeinflationandincreasethechanceofaspiralofrisingwagesandpricesfeedingoneachotherthatcouldbedifficulttostop. — DavidHarrison,WSJ,7Dec.2021 Formonths,someobservers,includingLawrenceSummers,theformerTreasurySecretary,havebeenaccusingtheFedofreactingtoopassivelytoanupturnininflationandwarningofapossiblewage-pricespiral. — JohnCassidy,TheNewYorker,6Dec.2021 Butevenasthatproblemdissipatesin8-12months,theeffectsofthedevelopingwage-pricespiralwillhavegainedstayingpowerandwillsoontakecenterstageastheeconomy’sbiggestchallenge. — MiltonEzrati,Forbes,6Dec.2021 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb Constantlyfeelingachy,strugglingwithasoreback,feelingtensewithtightshouldersorsufferingwithheadachesortummyachesareallailmentsthatcanspiraloutofcontrolandleadtoaninabilitytoworkalltogether. — JodieCook,Forbes,8Nov.2021 Othersbelievetherecouldbelegitimatecauseforconcernthatcopycatattackscouldinflametensionsthatspiralintoalargerthreat. — CNN,9July2021 Eachsideblamedtheotherfortheshelling,whichwasviewedwithconcerninUkraineandinWesterncapitalsforitspotentialtospiralintoabiggerconflict. — NewYorkTimes,17Feb.2022 Governmentorbusinessownerscouldputinplacecapacitylimitsinrestaurantsandentertainmentvenues,fliptowork-from-homepolicies,oramendtravelprotocols,toensurethattheoutbreakdoesn’tspiraloutofcontrol. — KatherineJ.Wu,TheAtlantic,17Feb.2022 IntensivetalksbetweenRussiaandWesternalliesyieldedposturingandthreatsbutconcludedwiththetwosidesseeminglynoclosertoresolvingastandoffthatcouldspiralintooneofEurope’sworstsecuritycrisesindecades. — WSJ,15Jan.2022 TheFed'sfacingmanychallengesahead—suchashowtoraiseinterestratestomakesurethatinflationdoesn'tspiraloutofcontrolintheyearsaheadbutavoiddrivingupthejoblessrateandshuttingdowntheeconomicrecovery. — SusanTompor,DetroitFreePress,14Jan.2022 Butinvestorshavebeenunabletoshaketheuneasyfeelingthatinflationcouldspiraloutofcontrol,hurtingtheeconomicrecoveryfromthepandemic. — JuliaHorowitz,CNN,14Sep.2021 Thatoftenisfueledbysocialmedia,wherebeefsbetweenindividualsorgroupscanquicklyspiraloutofcontrol. — courier-journal.com,13Aug.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'spiral.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore PhrasesContainingspiral downwardspiral inflationaryspiral spiralbinding spiral-bound spiralcleavage spiralgalaxy spiralofArchimedes spiralspring spiralstaircase upwardspiral downwardspiral inflationaryspiral spiralbinding spiral-bound spiralcleavage spiralgalaxy spiralofArchimedes spiralspring spiralstaircase upwardspiral FirstKnownUseofspiral Adjective 1551,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1aNoun 1656,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1aVerb 1834,inthemeaningdefinedatintransitivesense HistoryandEtymologyforspiral Adjective MedievalLatinspiralis,fromLatinspiracoil—moreatspire LearnMoreAboutspiral Sharespiral PosttheDefinitionofspiraltoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofspiralonTwitter TimeTravelerforspiral Thefirstknownuseofspiralwas in1551 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear DictionaryEntriesNearspiral spiraculum spiral spiralaxis SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforspiral LastUpdated 2Mar2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Spiral.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spiral.Accessed4Mar.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforspiral spiral adjective spi·​ral |\ˈspī-rəl \ KidsDefinitionofspiral (Entry1of3) 1 :windingorcirclingaroundacenterandgraduallygettingclosertoorfartherawayfromit aspiralseashell 2 :circlingaroundacenterlikethethreadofascrew aspiralstaircase spiral noun KidsDefinitionofspiral (Entry2of3) 1 :asingleturnorcoilinaspiralobject 2 :somethinghavingaformthatwindsorcirclesaroundacenter spiral verb spiraledorspiralled;spiralingorspiralling KidsDefinitionofspiral (Entry3of3) :tomoveinorasifinawindingorcircularpath Smokespiraledfromthechimney.…animmensecaldron…sentgreatcloudsofsavorysteamspiralingslowlytotheceiling.—NortonJuster,ThePhantomTollbooth spiral adjective spi·​ral |\ˈspī-rəl \ Medical Definitionofspiral (Entry1of2) 1a :windingaroundacenterorpoleandgraduallyrecedingfromorapproachingit b :helical thespiralstructureofDNA 2 :beingafractureinwhichthebreakisproducedbytwistingapartthebone adoublespiralbreak OtherWordsfromspiral spirally \ -​rə-​lē \ adverb spiral noun Medical Definitionofspiral (Entry2of2) 1 :thepathofapointinaplanemovingaroundacentralpointwhilecontinuouslyrecedingfromorapproachingit 2 :athree-dimensionalcurve(asahelix)withoneormoreturnsaboutanaxis thedoublespiralofDNA MorefromMerriam-Websteronspiral Nglish:TranslationofspiralforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofspiralforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutspiral WORDOFTHEDAY askew SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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