Skip to main content
whirlpool

whirlpool

20 3.8
A strong circular flow of water that pulls things to its center
  • noun
  • /ˈwɜrˌlpuːl/
: remolino
  • The boat was caught in a powerful whirlpool, spinning out of control in the water.

And Sulike Sikidaga means caught in the Whirlpool.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • How did she not get sucked down into a whirlpool?

  • It's the second-biggest whirlpool in Europe.

  • What happened to the new whirlpool we were supposed to get?

  • Maybe the plane's over there in the whirlpool.

  • At the mouth of the cave-in, there was a whirlpool wide as a city block.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • It was the biggest, deadliest whirlpool I'd ever seen.

  • The boat surged through the great pipe, spun into a whirlpool, then rushed on.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The key is not to allow ourselves to be sucked into whirlpools of disagreement.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Discouraged, she sat in the whirlpool, letting the tiredness seep out of her bones.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Leopold luxuriates in the bathtub wearing a "Whitecap," marveling at the whirlpool and the instant hot water.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

vortex
vswhirlpool
78 7.2

A spinning mass of air or water that pulls things toward its center

is limited to water currents often formed by opposing tides or currents
eddy
vswhirlpool
16 6.7

A small whirl of water or air that turns back from the main flow

is a much larger, more powerful spinning current formed by opposing tides
maelstrom
vswhirlpool
11 9.5

A very strong whirlpool in the sea or river that can pull things under

is powerful but less violently intense and less destructive

How Strong

maelstrom
11 9.5
whirlpool
20 3.8
to swirl
131 2.7
to eddy
2 5.8

Surface Forms

whirlpool singular
whirlpools plural

Morphology

whirlpool = whirl + pool (transparent) = whirl + pool

The compound is a straightforward combination of 'whirl' and 'pool'; learners can infer a circular water current from the parts.

Etymology

Whirlpool comes from the two simple words whirl ('to spin') and pool ('a small area of water'). So imagine water spinning into a round hole, which is why a whirlpool is a powerful circular current that pulls objects toward its center.