SPIRAL

coiling, helical, spiral, spiraling, volute, voluted, whorled, turbinate

(adjective) in the shape of a coil

spiral

(noun) flying downward in a helical path with a large radius

coil, spiral, volute, whorl, helix

(noun) a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops; “a coil of rope”

spiral, volute

(noun) ornament consisting of a curve on a plane that winds around a center with an increasing distance from the center

spiral

(noun) a continuously accelerating change in the economy

spiral

(noun) a plane curve traced by a point circling about the center but at increasing distances from the center

helix, spiral

(noun) a curve that lies on the surface of a cylinder or cone and cuts the element at a constant angle

gyrate, spiral, coil

(verb) to wind or move in a spiral course; “the muscles and nerves of his fine drawn body were coiling for action”; “black smoke coiling up into the sky”; “the young people gyrated on the dance floor”

corkscrew, spiral

(verb) move in a spiral or zigzag course

spiral

(verb) form a spiral; “The path spirals up the mountain”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

spiral (plural spirals)

(geometry) A curve that is the locus of a point that rotates about a fixed point while continuously increasing its distance from that point.

(informal) A helix.

A self-sustaining process with a lot of momentum involved, so it is difficult to accelerate or stop it at once.

Adjective

spiral (not comparable)

Helical, like a spiral

Verb

spiral (third-person singular simple present spirals, present participle (UK) spiralling or (US) spiraling, simple past and past participle (UK) spiralled or (US) spiraled)

(intransitive) To move along the path of a spiral or helix.

(transitive) To cause something to spiral.

(figuratively, intransitive) To increase continually.

Anagrams

• Aprils, Plairs, prials

Source: Wiktionary


Spi"ral, a. Etym: [Cf. F. spiral. See Spire a winding line.]

1. Winding or circling round a center or pole and gradually receding from it; as, the spiral curve of a watch spring.

2. Winding round a cylinder or imaginary axis, and at the same time rising or advancing forward; winding like the thread of a screw; helical.

3. (Geom.)

Definition: Of or pertaining to a spiral; like a spiral. Spiral gear, or Spiral wheel (Mach.), a gear resembling in general a spur gear, but having its teeth cut at an angle with its axis, or so that they form small portions of screws or spirals.

– Spiral gearing, a kind of gearing sometimes used in light machinery, in which spiral gears, instead of bevel gears, are used to transmit motion between shafts that are not parallel.

– Spiral operculum, an operculum whih has spiral lines of growth.

– Spiral shell, any shell in which the whorls form a spiral or helix.

– Spiral spring. See the Note under Spring, n., 4.

Spi"ral, n. Etym: [Cf. F. spirale. See Spiral, a.]

1. (Geom.)

Definition: A plane curve, not reëntrant, described by a point, called the generatrix, moving along a straight line according to a mathematical law, while the line is revolving about a fixed point called the pole. Cf. Helix.

2. Anything which has a spiral form, as a spiral shell. Equiangular spiral,a plane curve which cuts all its generatrices at the same angle. Same as Logarithmic spiral, under Logarithmic.

– Spiral of Archimedes, a spiral the law of which is that the generatrix moves uniformly along the revolving line, which also moves uniformly.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

28 May 2025

AIR

(noun) a distinctive but intangible quality surrounding a person or thing; “an air of mystery”; “the house had a neglected air”; “an atmosphere of defeat pervaded the candidate’s headquarters”; “the place had an aura of romance”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.

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