spiral

[spi·ral]

A spiral is a coil or curl, like the shape of a piece of hair wound around your finger, a Slinky toy, or a corkscrew.

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

Noun
flying downward in a helical path with a large radius

Noun
a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops; "a coil of rope"

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

Noun
a plane curve traced by a point circling about the center but at ever-greater distances from it

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

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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"

Verb
move in a spiral or zigzag course

Verb
form a spiral; "The path spirals up the mountain"

Adjective S.
in the shape of a coil

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

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

a.
Of or pertaining to a spiral; like a spiral.

a.
A plane curve, not reentrant, 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.

a.
Anything which has a spiral form, as a spiral shell.

Spiral

Spi"ral , a. [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.) Of or pertaining to a spiral; like a spiral. Spiral gear, ∨ 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.

Spiral

Spi"ral , n. [Cf. F. spirale. See Spiral, a.] 1. (Geom.) A plane curve, not re'89ntrant, 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.

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

A plane curve, not re'89ntrant, 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.

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Usage Examples

Corporate America cannot afford to remain silent or passive about the downward spiral we are undergoing. It cannot turn a blind eye to how difficult the experience of life is for so many of their customers.

Fear stifles our thinking and actions. It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I have known talented people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins.

Misspelled Form

spiral, aspiral, wspiral, espiral, dspiral, xspiral, zspiral, apiral, wpiral, epiral, dpiral, xpiral, zpiral, sapiral, swpiral, sepiral, sdpiral, sxpiral, szpiral, sopiral, s0piral, slpiral, soiral, s0iral, sliral, spoiral, sp0iral, spliral, spuiral, sp8iral, sp9iral, spoiral, spjiral, spkiral, spural, sp8ral, sp9ral, sporal, spjral, spkral, spiural, spi8ral, spi9ral, spioral, spijral, spikral, spieral, spi4ral, spi5ral, spitral, spifral, spieal, spi4al, spi5al, spital, spifal, spireal, spir4al, spir5al, spirtal, spirfal, spirqal, spirwal, spirsal, spirzal, spirql, spirwl, spirsl, spirzl, spiraql, spirawl, spirasl, spirazl, spirakl, spiraol, spirapl, spira:l, spirak, spirao, spirap, spira:, spiralk, spiralo, spiralp, spiral:.

Other Usage Examples

The spiral in a snail's shell is the same mathematically as the spiral in the Milky Way galaxy, and it's also the same mathematically as the spirals in our DNA. It's the same ratio that you'll find in very basic music that transcends cultures all over the world.

I love to take risks, I love to travel, and I'm very outdoor-sy, so any girl who can pick up a football and throw a spiral will definitely catch my attention.