tailspin

noun

tail·​spin ˈtāl-ˌspin How to pronounce tailspin (audio)
1
2
: a mental or emotional letdown or collapse
3
: a sustained and usually severe decline or downturn
stock prices in a tailspin

Examples of tailspin in a Sentence

Stock prices are in a tailspin. The team went into a tailspin and lost six straight games.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Is Peter Laviolette the right coach to get the team out of this tailspin? Arthur Staple, The Athletic, 14 Jan. 2025 The season was spinning out of control, with the Niners losing three straight games, each in increasingly embarrassing fashion, and another loss — especially to a team with a rookie quarterback and a first-time head coach — would likely put it in an irreversible tailspin. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 8 Dec. 2024 On Sunday, the internet went into a tailspin when Timothée Chalamet turned up to a Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition. Callum Booth, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024 The Chicks’ career went into a tailspin following the backlash, impacting their record sales and radio play for years, a situation chronicled in the 2006 doc Shut Up and Sing. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 7 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for tailspin 

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tailspin was in 1917

Dictionary Entries Near tailspin

Cite this Entry

“Tailspin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tailspin. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

tailspin

noun
tail·​spin ˈtā(ə)l-ˌspin How to pronounce tailspin (audio)

More from Merriam-Webster on tailspin

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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