spiral
verb/ˈspaɪrəl/
/ˈspaɪrəl/
Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they spiral | /ˈspaɪrəl/ /ˈspaɪrəl/ |
| he / she / it spirals | /ˈspaɪrəlz/ /ˈspaɪrəlz/ |
| past simple spiralled | /ˈspaɪrəld/ /ˈspaɪrəld/ |
| past participle spiralled | /ˈspaɪrəld/ /ˈspaɪrəld/ |
| (North American English usually) past simple spiraled | /ˈspaɪrəld/ /ˈspaɪrəld/ |
| (North American English usually) past participle spiraled | /ˈspaɪrəld/ /ˈspaɪrəld/ |
| -ing form spiralling | /ˈspaɪrəlɪŋ/ /ˈspaɪrəlɪŋ/ |
| (North American English usually) -ing form spiraling | /ˈspaɪrəlɪŋ/ /ˈspaɪrəlɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) to move in continuous circles, going upwards or downwards
- Smoke spiralled into the sky.
- The plane spiralled down to the ground.
- [intransitive] to increase rapidly
- the spiralling cost of healthcare
- + adv./prep. Prices are spiralling out of control.
Word Originmid 16th cent. (as an adjective): from medieval Latin spiralis, from Latin spira ‘coil’, from Greek speira ‘a coil’.
Check pronunciation:
spiral