as in breakdown
a mental or nervous collapse
the pressures of his job nearly caused him to go into a tailspin
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Recent Examples of tailspin
The film, set in 1920s Montana, unwraps the lives of the Burbank brothers, Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons), after George marries lonely widow Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst), setting surly Phil into a tailspin of cruelty that envelops the family.
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Sezin Devi Keohler, EW.com, 29 Mar. 2025
Special teams are costly again The power play went 0 for 3 and is in a 1 for 28 tailspin in the last 12 games.
—Arthur Staple, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
The only poorer record since Wade arrived was a league-worst 15-67 tailspin in 2007-08 — just two years after Miami’s first championship.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2025
His approach to trade – announcing abrupt and dramatic tariffs on certain imports, calling the duties off and later threatening to impose new ones – has thrown financial markets into a tailspin.
—Michael Collins, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tailspin
Sezin Devi Keohler, EW.com, 29 Mar. 2025
Special teams are costly again The power play went 0 for 3 and is in a 1 for 28 tailspin in the last 12 games.
—Arthur Staple, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
The only poorer record since Wade arrived was a league-worst 15-67 tailspin in 2007-08 — just two years after Miami’s first championship.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2025
His approach to trade – announcing abrupt and dramatic tariffs on certain imports, calling the duties off and later threatening to impose new ones – has thrown financial markets into a tailspin.
—Michael Collins, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tailspin
Cite this Entry
“Tailspin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tailspin. Accessed 7 Apr. 2025.
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