spiral
To become worse and worse very quickly so that it is hard to stop or control.
To change for the worse very quickly and in a way that becomes hard or impossible to control, often moving from one bad stage to an even worse one.
A long process where something gets worse and worse over time.
A continuous process in which a situation, condition, or behavior becomes steadily worse, often with each stage making the next one more severe.
To move in circles around a center while going up, down, in, or out.
To move in a curve that winds around a central point or axis, usually while gradually moving upward, downward, inward, or outward.
A line or shape that goes around and around a center, moving in or out as it turns.
A curve or line that winds around a central point or axis, usually moving steadily closer to or farther from that center with each turn.
Shaped like a spiral, going around and around a center while moving in or out.
Having the shape of a spiral, curving around a central point or axis while gradually moving inward, outward, upward, or downward.
To go up or down very fast in number, price, or level.
To increase or decrease very quickly and continuously in amount, cost, or level, often causing concern or difficulty.
To think more and more negative thoughts very fast so that you feel worse and worse.
To fall into a pattern of repeated negative thoughts and feelings that quickly become more intense, often leading to anxiety, panic, or sadness.
- Base: spiral
- Base: spiral
- Plural: spirals
- Base: spiral
- 3rd Person Singular: spirals
- Present Participle: spiraling, spiralling
- Past: spiraled, spiralled
death spiral
1worsening process ending in failure
A very bad process where something keeps getting worse until it stops or fails completely.
- The airline entered a death spiral of rising costs and falling ticket sales.
- Scientists warn of a death spiral for some animal populations as their habitat disappears.
- Without new customers, the service could go into a death spiral and shut down.
spiral binding
1binding with a spiral coil
A way to join pages into a book using a metal or plastic spiral through small holes on one side.
- The report was printed with spiral binding for easy use.
- Spiral binding lets the book lie flat on the table.
- Many cookbooks use spiral binding so the pages stay open.
spiral down
1move or decline in a spiral
To go down in a spiral shape, or to become worse and worse.
- The helicopter began to spiral down toward the landing pad.
- After the scandal, public trust in the politician spiraled down.
- The bird spiraled down gracefully before landing on the branch.
spiral galaxy
1galaxy with spiral arms
A large group of stars in space that has long arms in a spiral shape around the center.
- Our Milky Way is a spiral galaxy.
- The telescope captured a clear image of a distant spiral galaxy.
- Spiral galaxies often have bright, well-defined arms.
spiral into
1quickly become a (bad) state
To very quickly move into a certain condition, often a bad one like chaos, depression, or debt.
- The peaceful protest spiraled into chaos after nightfall.
- Without help, his sadness could spiral into depression.
- Small money problems can easily spiral into serious debt.
spiral out of control
1become impossible to control
To become so bad or so fast that nobody can manage or stop it.
- The party spiraled out of control after someone posted the address online.
- Medical costs have spiraled out of control in the last decade.
- The argument quickly spiraled out of control and the manager had to step in.
spiral up
1move or increase in a spiral
To go up in a spiral shape, or to increase more and more.
- Smoke from the campfire spiraled up into the night sky.
- Housing costs continue to spiral up in the city.
- The kite spiraled up on the strong wind.
upward spiral
1process of steady improvement
A long process where a situation becomes better and better step by step.
- Regular exercise and better sleep put her in an upward spiral of energy and confidence.
- Good grades and useful feedback created an upward spiral of motivation for the students.
- The new policies started an upward spiral in local businesses’ success.
wage-price spiral
1cycle of rising wages and prices
An economic situation where wages go up, then prices go up, and this keeps repeating so both rise again and again.
- The government is trying to avoid a wage-price spiral.
- Economists warned that the new contracts could trigger a wage-price spiral.
- A wage-price spiral can make inflation very hard to control.
downward spiral
1process of steady decline
A long process where a situation becomes worse and worse step by step.
- After his injury, he entered a downward spiral of painkillers and missed practices.
- The town has been in a downward spiral since the factory closed.
- They are trying to break the downward spiral of poverty in the area.
downward spiral
2a process of getting worse and worse
A situation that keeps becoming worse, where each problem causes more and more problems.
- After he lost his job, his debts and stress created a downward spiral.
- The company entered a downward spiral of falling sales and staff cuts.
spiral notebook
1notebook with spiral binding
A paper notebook held together with a wire or plastic ring that goes in a spiral along the side.
- I prefer using a spiral notebook so it lies flat on the desk.
- She always carries a small spiral notebook in her bag for ideas.
- She tore a page out of her spiral notebook.
- Please bring a spiral notebook to class for your notes.
- He flipped through his spiral notebook looking for the phone number.
spiral staircase
1stairs that go around in a spiral
A set of stairs that turn around and around a center as they go up or down.
- The library has a spiral staircase leading to the second floor.
- They climbed the narrow spiral staircase to the top of the tower.
- They built a spiral staircase to save space in the small apartment.
- A spiral staircase connects the two floors of the studio.
- The old lighthouse still has its original iron spiral staircase.