to spiral
39
4.0
- verb
- /ˈspaɪrəl/
:
moverse en espiral
- spiral upward
- spiral inward
- spiral slowly
It strips the matter, flays the stars and the material spirals in and it heats up.
- It strips the matter, flays the stars and the material spirals in and it heats up.
Examples
-
Wooden stairs start at the stone floor and spiral around the walls as they rise.
Fiction book (1993) -
So this is mostly gas that is spiralling around the black hole.
-
Then I rushed for the stairs that spiraled around the vehicle as it rose.
Fiction book (1995) -
The quality of students' education and instructors' lives will spiral downward together if institutions don't face this problem.
Academic text (2016) -
Ten minutes later, the night grew orange, and smoke spiraled up into the overcast skies.
Fiction book (1992) -
Over Chicago, Illinois, as the camera spirals down toward a teeming football stadium.
Fiction book (1991) -
Electrons emit synchrotron radiation as they spiral around field lines in a magnetic field.
Academic text (1996) -
The leaves began to spiral gently down to the ground as autumn arrived.
-
As the bird spiraled upwards, it caught the warm currents of air in a graceful dance.
-
The roller coaster will spiral around before it drops sharply, thrilling all the riders.
Synonyms
231
1.7
To turn something so it becomes a curved or spiral shape
173
1.1
To form into a curved or spiral shape
12
6.9
Spin around in circles or spirals
7
3.8
To wind something into loops or move in a spiral
2
6.8
To move in a twisting spiral path
1
9.2
To move in a circle or spiral
To wind or twist inward in a spiral like a snail's shell
To twist or coil together into a spiral shape
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
- Specialized
5
5.9
A large group of stars with a bright center and curved arms that wind outward
3
1.9
A notebook with a metal or plastic wire along one side that lets pages turn easily
- Specialized
1
9.5
A situation when falling prices and wages cause more falls and make the economy worse
- Specialized
1
8.4
A hand tool that turns screws when you press its spiral handle down
- Archaic
1
8.1
A large group of stars in a flat spiral shape with arms of young stars around an older centre
- Specialized
A wire coiled into a spiral that stores and releases energy to make things turn
- Specialized
A strip of cloth wrapped in overlapping turns around a limb like an arm
How Curved
Surface Forms
Etymology
Spiral comes from the Latin word spira and the Greek speira, both meaning 'coil' or 'twist'. To 'spiral' is to move in a winding curve around a centre, rising or falling slowly as you turn, just like a coiled path.