Meaning & use
a spiral
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Meanings
nouncountable
a curved line that winds around a center point, getting farther away as it turns, or a shape or object with this form.
Grammar: Countable noun; use 'a spiral' for one, 'spirals' for more than one.
Patterns
- in a spiral
- a spiral of something
The staircase climbed in a tight spiral up the tower.
She drew a spiral on the paper to show the pattern.
The galaxy has a beautiful spiral shape.
nouncountablefigurative
a situation in which something continuously gets worse or increases, often out of control.
Grammar: Often used with 'into': 'a spiral into debt'.
Patterns
- a spiral into something
- a downward spiral
The company fell into a spiral of debt after the bad investment.
He tried to stop his downward spiral into depression.
Prices entered a spiral that no one could stop.
verbintransitive
to move in a spiral path, or to increase or decrease quickly and continuously.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'up', 'down', or 'into'.
Patterns
- spiral up
- spiral down
- spiral into something
The smoke spiraled up into the sky.
Costs have spiraled out of control this year.
The plane spiraled down toward the ground.
Word forms
| plural | spirals |
|---|---|
| third person singular | spirals |
| past tense | spiraled |
| past participle | spiraled |
| present participle | spiraling |
Common combinations
- spiral staircase
- The old house had a wooden spiral staircase.
- downward spiral
- The economy is in a downward spiral.
- spiral notebook
- I bought a spiral notebook for my class notes.
- spiral out of control
- The argument spiraled out of control.
Synonyms and how they differ
- coil
- A coil is a series of rings or loops, often of rope or wire, while a spiral is a continuous curve that winds around a center.
- helix
- A helix is a three-dimensional spiral, like a spring or a DNA strand; a spiral can be flat or three-dimensional.
- whorl
- A whorl is a pattern of spirals, especially in fingerprints or shells; it is more technical than spiral.
Word family
- spirally adverb
- In a spiral manner.
Commonly confused: a spiral or spiral?
a spiral vs spiral
The phrase 'a spiral' includes the article 'a'; the noun itself is 'spiral'. Don't confuse the article with part of the word.
Practice
The company's profits went into a ______ after the scandal.
Choose one answer.
'Spiral' fits because it describes a situation that gets worse continuously. 'Circle' and 'square' are shapes but don't convey the idea of worsening, and 'line' is too general.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a spiral”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.