tailspin
Americannoun
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spin.
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a sudden and helpless collapse into failure, confusion, or the like.
verb (used without object)
noun
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aeronautics another name for spin
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informal a state of confusion or panic
Etymology
Origin of tailspin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That was our headline on June 13, 2025, the first of the 12 days of war that sent Iran’s regime into a tailspin.
This seemed unlikely on April’s “Liberation Day,” when new tariffs sent markets into a tailspin.
After recovering from a brief emotional tailspin, Noonan knocked out the script for “The Shape of Something Squashed” — then directed and acted in the film.
From Los Angeles Times
To be sure, there was no obvious villain, like a geopolitical shock or tariff threats, sending the market into a tailspin this week.
From MarketWatch
The Lakers continued their tailspin Thursday, falling into a 26-point hole they were unable to climb completely out of in a 112-104 loss to the Clippers, losing for the sixth time in nine games.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
