spiral

verb

spiraled or spiralled; spiraling or spiralling

intransitive verb

: to go and especially to rise or fall in a spiral course

costs spiraled upward

transitive verb

1

: to form into a spiral

2

: to cause to spiral

Synonyms of spiral

• curl
• coil
• wind
• curve
• swirl
• circle

Examples of spiral in a Sentence

Smoke spiraled up from the chimney.

The airplane spiraled to the ground and crashed.

The unemployment rate has been spiraling upward.

The stock market is spiraling downward.

Let's deal with this crisis before it spirals out of control.

Recent Examples on the Web

That spiraled into heavy addiction, committing his first bank robbery, and five years in federal prison. —Rina Nakano, CBS News, 6 June 2026

Now is the time to recognize and fight to reverse the spiraling fall of the United States of America’s status as the foremost nation in health care innovation. —Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 6 June 2026

What likely happened, the team explains, is that the planet spiraled inwards towards the star, became orbitally unstable, and was eventually absorbed. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 6 June 2026

Sheets of flame, crumbling brick, a spiraling murmuration of cinders. —Literary Hub, 3 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing spiral

• downward spiral
• inflationary spiral
• spiral binding
• spiral-bound
• spiral cleavage
• spiral galaxy
• spiral of Archimedes
• spiral spring
• spiral staircase
• upward spiral

Rhymes for spiral

• chiral
• viral
• adenoviral
• antiretroviral
• antiviral
• retroviral

Kids Definition

spiral

1 of 3 adjective

spi·​ral ˈspī-rəl 

1

: winding or circling around a center and gradually getting closer to or farther away from it

the spiral curve of a watch spring

2

: winding around an axis like the thread of a screw

a spiral staircase

spirally

-rə-lē 

adverb

spiral

2 of 3 noun

1

a

: a curve in a plane that winds around a point while getting closer to or farther away from it

b

: a curve (as a helix) in space that winds around an axis

2

: a single turn or coil in a spiral object

3

: something having a spiral form

spiral

3 of 3 verb

spiraled or spiralled; spiraling or spiralling

: to move in a spiral path

Medical Definition

spiral

1 of 2 adjective

spi·​ral ˈspī-rəl 

1

a

: winding around a center or pole and gradually receding from or approaching it

b

: helical

the spiral structure of DNA

2

: being a fracture in which the break is produced by twisting apart the bone

a double spiral break

spirally

-rə-lē 

adverb

spiral

2 of 2 noun

1

: the path of a point in a plane moving around a central point while continuously receding from or approaching it

2

: a three-dimensional curve (as a helix) with one or more turns about an axis

the double spiral of DNA