death spiral

American

noun

(in pair skating) a dramatic movement in which the man spins his partner around him in a gradually increasing radius while he spins in place, holding the extended arm of the woman, who revolves around him on one skate with the other leg stretched out and gradually lowers herself backward until she is just above the ice surface.

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.

As every expert knows, voluntary health programs are killed by an adverse-selection death spiral.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

For decades, Canada was seen as a global laggard in defence funding, and just two years ago, recruitment was so dire that a former defence minister warned the armed forces were in a "death spiral".

From BBC • May 9, 2026

The report lays out a death spiral for the economy in which AI displaces white-collar workers, who are then unemployed and have no money to spend, which causes economic ruin.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

“You’re just at this death spiral, essentially,” said Austen Jensen of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, whose members include Walmart and Dollar General.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025

Scientists call this death spiral the human-grass-fire cycle.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2025

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023