Spiral
['spaɪr(ə)l] or ['spaɪrəl]
Definition
(noun.) flying downward in a helical path with a large radius.
(noun.) ornament consisting of a curve on a plane that winds around a center with an increasing distance from the center.
(noun.) a continuously accelerating change in the economy.
(noun.) a plane curve traced by a point circling about the center but at increasing distances from the center.
(verb.) form a spiral; 'The path spirals up the mountain'.
Inputed by Frances--From WordNet
Definition
(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.
Checker: Micawber
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. Winding (like the thread of a screw), cochleary, cochleated, spiry, helical, screw-shaped.
n. Helix, worm.
Checked by Carlton
Definition
adj. pertaining to or like a spire: winding like the thread of a screw.—n. a spiral line: a curve which continually recedes from a centre about which it revolves: a screw.—n. Spiral′ity.—adv. Spī′rally in a spiral form or direction.—adj. Spirā′ted spiral whorled.
Editor: Michel
Examples
- Obviously, as the cylinder was turned, the needle followed a spiral path whose pitch depended upon that of the feed screw. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- The rifle grooves, however, were first made spiral or screwed by Koster, of Birmingham, about 1620, while straight grooves are said to have been in use as far back as 1498. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- They are put together with a double-lapped spiral seam to give expansion-resisting qualities, and as an additional precaution small metal rings are slipped on the outside. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- It circled (owing to the guys of one wing being loose) to the right, completing two circles and beginning a third as it advanced; so that the whole course had the form of a spiral. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- The feature of importance in the cannon which contributed most to its efficiency was the rifling of the bore with spiral grooves. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Other forms of pegs followed, such as the metal screw pegs, and machines to cut them off from a continuous spiral wire from which they were made. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The simplest form and most effective sweeper comprises a large cylinder armed with spiral rows of splints and hung diagonally on the under side and across a frame having two or four wheels. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- A cold grey sky threatened rain, and a high wind drove the dust in wild spirals up and down the streets. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- The trouble with these attachments was that they were either stripped off, or stripped away, by the gun spirals. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
Editor: Ramon