Geometry. a plane curve generated by a point moving around a fixed point while constantly receding from or approaching it.
a helix.
a single circle or ring of a spiral or helical curve or object.
a spiral or helical object, formation, or form.
Aeronautics. a maneuver in which an airplane descends in a helix of small pitch and large radius, with the angle of attack within that of the normal flight range.
Football. a type of kick or pass in which the ball turns on its longer axis as it flies through the air.
Economics. a continuous increase in costs, wages, prices, etc. (inflationary spiral ), or a decrease in costs, wages, prices, etc. (deflationary spiral ).
adjective
running continuously around a fixed point or center while constantly receding from or approaching it; coiling in a single plane: a spiral curve.
coiling around a fixed line or axis in a constantly changing series of planes; helical.
of or of the nature of a spire or coil.
bound with a spiral binding; spiral-bound: a spiral notebook.
verb (used without object),spi·raled,spi·ral·ing or (especially British) spi·ralled,spi·ral·ling.
to take a spiral form or course.
to advance or increase steadily; rise: Costs have been spiraling all year.
Aeronautics. to fly an airplane through a spiral course.
verb (used with object),spi·raled,spi·ral·ing or (especially British) spi·ralled,spi·ral·ling.
to cause to take a spiral form or course.
Origin of spiral
1545–55; <Medieval Latin spīrālis, equivalent to Latin spīr(a) coil (<Greek speîra anything coiled, wreathed, or twisted; see spire2) + -ālis-al1
India’s healthcare system has spiralled into total chaos following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Covid-19 is teaching India to use maps to battle the next pandemic|Ananya Bhattacharya|July 30, 2020|Quartz
It’s possible, too, that some of the partisan divides we’re seeing now could start to narrow as outbreaks spiral out of control in states like Arizona, Florida and Texas.
Republicans And Democrats See COVID-19 Very Differently. Is That Making People Sick?|Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux|July 23, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Images from the telescopes show a spiral disk of gas and dust surrounding AB Aurigae.
Developing planet emerges in a swirl of gas|Lisa Grossman|July 6, 2020|Science News For Students
It likely has spiral arms, too, the scientists say — just like the Milky Way.
Oldest disk galaxy puts a new spin on galaxy growth|Lisa Grossman|June 30, 2020|Science News For Students
Our spirals might all trace back to an unexpected influence from cosmic rays.
Cosmic Rays May Explain Life’s Bias for Right-Handed DNA|Charlie Wood|June 29, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The now-convicted felons will hear their sentences in January, but their story continues to spiral downward.
2014 Was a Delectably Good Year for Sleaze|Patricia Murphy|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Leung, however, has criticized Occupy Central for allowing the protests to spiral out of control.
Occupy Hong Kong Hangs On|Lennox Samuels|September 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Case in point: the spiral galaxy NGC 5548, which astronomers have been monitoring off and on for decades.
The Supermassive Black Hole Smokescreen|Matthew R. Francis|June 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes if parents set too many boundaries and discipline too much, they will then also rebel and spiral out of control.
Are Parents to Blame for Their Spoiled Rotten RugBrats?|Keli Goff|March 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even as Erdogan talked tough on the protests, however, the situation around Taksim threatened to spiral further out of control.
Ornaments have free endings, bent in spiral, snail-shell coils.
Jewellery|H. Clifford Smith,
Keeping on the outside, he commenced walking the animal in a spiral ring that gradually closed in upon the clump.
The Scalp Hunters|Mayne Reid
A genus of tube-inhabiting Annelides, in which the shelly tube is coiled into a spiral disc.
The Ancient Life History of the Earth|Henry Alleyne Nicholson
These large rich spots are elongated and are placed parallel to the long axis of the egg, showing but little tendency to spiral.
Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1 (of 2)|Arthur Cleveland Bent
This rough cutting edge imparts just such a roughness to the spiral groove.
The Arrow of Fire|Roy J. Snell
British Dictionary definitions for spiral
spiral
/ (ˈspaɪərəl) /
noun
geometryone of several plane curves formed by a point winding about a fixed point at an ever-increasing distance from it. Polar equation of Archimedes spiral:r = a θ; of logarithmic spiral: log r = a θ; of hyperbolic spiral:r θ = a, (where a is a constant)
another name for helix (def. 1)
something that pursues a winding, usually upward, course or that displays a twisting form or shape
a flight manoeuvre in which an aircraft descends describing a helix of comparatively large radius with the angle of attack within the normal flight rangeCompare spin (def. 16)
economicsa continuous upward or downward movement in economic activity or prices, caused by interaction between prices, wages, demand, and production