tailspin

noun

tail·​spin ˈtāl-ˌspin 

1

: spin sense 2a

2

: a mental or emotional letdown or collapse

3

: a sustained and usually severe decline or downturn

stock prices in a tailspin

Synonyms of tailspin

• breakdown

Examples of tailspin in a Sentence

Stock prices are in a tailspin.

The team went into a tailspin and lost six straight games.

Recent Examples on the Web

At the story’s start Mathilda happens upon a new Transfixion, the obscure Black modernist poet Hermia Druitt, who sends her into a tailspin unlike any who came before. —Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026

The tailspin began on a Thursday night, with a Lions-Cowboys game. —Mckay Coppins, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026

Cuba’s economy, already in the midst of an existential crisis, went into a tailspin. —Sarah Moreno, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2026

The film, set in 1920s Montana, unwraps the lives of the Burbank brothers, Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons), after George marries lonely widow Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst), setting surly Phil into a tailspin of cruelty that envelops the family. —Sezin Devi Keohler, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tailspin

• akin
• auxin
• buckskin
• chagrin
• deerskin
• foreskin
• fuchsin
• herein
• kingpin
• linchpin
• pigskin
• pinyin

Kids Definition

tailspin

noun

tail·​spin ˈtā(ə)l-ˌspin 

: spin entry 2 sense 3