Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tailspin

/tˈeɪlspˌɪn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.32 in modern English

Syllables: tail-spin
IPA: /tˈeɪlspˌɪn/

10

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The rapid, uncontrollable descent of an aircraft in a steep spiral.

noun

A severe mental or emotional collapse; emotional breakdown.

noun

Any sharp, sustained, often uncontrollable descent or decline.

verb

Of an aircraft: to go into a rapid, uncontrollable descent in a steep spiral.

verb

To go into a sharp, sustained, often uncontrollable descent or decline.

Example Sentences

"The loss of the third engine threw the plane into a tailspin."
"Just hours after leaving the institution, she suffered another tailspin."
"The present stock tailspin proves bankruptcy is imminent."
"But I was reading a statement that either you made or was part of your movie, “An Inconvenient Truth”, and it said we have just 10 years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tailspin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced."
"St. Louis, the fourth-largest U.S. city in 1900, is fading fast […] . Jobs, and airline, an educated population—all gone or in a tailspin."

Etymology

From tail + spin.

Inflected Forms

tailspins (plural) tailspins (present, singular) tailspinning (participle, present) tailspun (participle, past) tailspun (past) tailspinned (participle, past) tailspinned (past)

Phrases

downward spiral

Frequently Paired Words

downward spiral nosedive

Synonyms

spin

Questions

How do you pronounce tailspin?: The recorded pronunciation is /tˈeɪlspˌɪn/.
What does tailspin mean?: The rapid, uncontrollable descent of an aircraft in a steep spiral.
Where does tailspin come from?: From tail + spin.

How to pronounce tailspin

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tailspin”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/tˈeɪlspˌɪn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tailspin”.
Repeat and practice — Say “tailspin” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.