tailspin

tail·spin

noun \-ˌspin\

: a condition in which an airplane is falling rapidly while turning around and around

: a state in which something quickly becomes much worse

Full Definition of TAILSPIN

1

:  spin 2a

2

:  a mental or emotional letdown or collapse

3

:  a sustained and usually severe decline or downturn <stock prices in a tailspin>

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Examples of TAILSPIN

1. Stock prices are in a tailspin.
2. The team went into a tailspin and lost six straight games.

First Known Use of TAILSPIN

1917

Related to TAILSPIN

Synonyms

crack-up, nervous breakdown, breakdown

Related Words

frazzle, freak-out, meltdown; alarm (also alarum), anxiety, apprehension, disquiet; excitability, nervousness; disturbance; agitation, discomposure, perturbation; basket case

Near Antonyms

aplomb, calmness, composure, coolness, imperturbability, placidity, self-possession, sereneness, serenity, tranquillity (or tranquility), tranquilness

Rhymes with TAILSPIN

add-in, again, akin, all-in, backspin, bearskin, begin, Benin, blow in, Boleyn, bowfin, break-in, bring in, buckskin, build in, built-in, burn-in, butt in, calfskin, call in, call-in, capeskin, cash in, cave-in, chagrin, check in, check-in, chime in, chip in, clothespin, come in, coonskin, crankpin, cut in, deerskin, dig in, doeskin, do in, draw in, drive-in, drop in, duckpin, dustbin, edge in, fade-in, fall in, fill in, fill-in, foreskin, Fuxin, get in, give in, goatskin, go in, Guilin, hairpin, hand in, hang in, Harbin, has-been, headpin, herein, horn in, Jilin, kick in, kidskin, kingpin, lambskin, lay in, lead-in, lie-in, linchpin, live-in, lived-in, lobe-fin, locked-in, log in, look-in, love-in, moleskin, move in, munchkin, Nankin, ninepin, no-win, oilskin, phone-in, pigskin, pinyin, pitch in, plug-in, plugged-in, pull in, punch in, pushpin, put in, rub in, ruin, run in, run-in, saimin, scarfpin, scarfskin, sealskin, send in, set in, sharkskin, shear pin, sheepskin, shoo-in, shut-in, sidespin, sign in, sit-in, sleep in, sleep-in, sloe gin, snakeskin, sock in, stand in, stand-in, step in, stickpin, suck in, swanskin, swear in, swim fin, tail fin, take in, tap-in, teach-in, tenpin, therein, tholepin, threadfin, throw in, tie-in, tiepin, tip-in, toe-in, Tonkin, topspin, trade in, trade-in, tune in, tuned-in, Turin, turn in, unpin, walk-in, wear thin, weigh in, wherein, whip in, wineskin, win-win, within, woolskin, work in, wrist pin, write-in, Yeltsin