corkscrew

1 of 3

noun

cork·​screw ˈkȯrk-ˌskrü 

: a device for drawing corks from bottles that has a pointed spiral piece of metal turned by a handle

corkscrew

2 of 3

adjective

: resembling a corkscrew : spiral

corkscrew

3 of 3

verb

corkscrewed; corkscrewing; corkscrews

transitive verb

1

: wind entry 3

2

: to draw out with difficulty

3

: to twist into a spiral

intransitive verb

: to move in a winding course

Synonyms

Adjective

• coiling
• helical
• involute
• screwlike
• spiral
• winding

Verb

• extract
• prize
• pry
• pull
• root (out)
• tear (out)
• uproot
• wrest
• wring
• yank

Examples of corkscrew in a Sentence

Adjective

an angelic child with beautiful corkscrew curls

Verb

practically every word had to be corkscrewed out of the tight-lipped witness

the trail corkscrews through dense woods to the top of the steep hill

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

He was described as a guy trying to pull a corkscrew out of a champagne bottle and then throwing the corkscrew and the bottle at you in disgust. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 16 May 2024

The car should have been picked up by a pair of loopy crooks, Arliss (Joey Slotnick) and Flint (C. J. Wilson), and the case in the trunk is one for which a man has been killed (by a waiter who stabs him with a corkscrew to the neck). —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1698, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1790, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1837, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

corkscrew

1 of 2 noun

cork·​screw ˈkȯrk-ˌskrü 

: a pointed spiral tool with a handle for pulling corks from bottles

corkscrew

2 of 2 adjective

: resembling a corkscrew : spiral