tailspin

noun

tail·spin | \ ˈtāl-ˌspin

Definition of tailspin

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

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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

The Diamondbacks’ tailspin continued on Sunday with a 2-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics, an outcome that led to another series loss, completed a 1-8 road trip and extended their misery to 15 losses in their past 17 games. — Nick Piecoro, azcentral, "Road trip ends with another Diamondbacks loss," 27 May 2018 Henderson attempted to stop the firm’s tailspin by ordering the Herbert Smith Freehills review of the Oakbay account. — Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, "The Reputation-Laundering Firm That Ruined Its Own Reputation," 25 May 2018 But with double-digit inflation and a generally waning appetite for emerging markets, any sign that Turkey intends to loosen its monetary policy could alarm foreign investors, economists say, potentially sending the lira into a tailspin. — David Gauthier-villars, WSJ, "New Turkish Finance Minister Vows to Fight Inflation," 13 July 2018 The rest has been a dismal tailspin into the fiery pit of hell, or Trump’s stomach after a long night with KFC. — Stephen A. Crockett Jr., The Root, "How LaVar Ball’s Junior Basketball Association Has Become the Donald Trump of Roundball Leagues," 26 June 2018 A year later, the collapse of the Soviet Union sent Cuba’s economy into a tailspin that lasted until 1995. — Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle, "Art Daybook: Belkis Ayón’s Cuban perspective," 20 June 2018 The show ended in 2001, just before our nation's still-ongoing political tailspin. — K. Austin Collins, HWD, "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?," 8 June 2018 As the economy entered a tailspin at the end of 2008, the original report for the fourth quarter had GDP growth at minus 3.8%. — Jason Furman, WSJ, "The Economy Is Growing Faster Than the Government Says," 9 July 2018 At the far ends of each group are Macy’s , which continues to beat analyst expectations, and Sears , whose tailspin appears to be accelerating. — Elizabeth Winkler, WSJ, "Winners in Traditional Retailing Are Also Winning Online," 8 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tailspin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.