downspin

downspin noun: any type of movement that goes downwards in a spiraling motion.

Noun

downspin (countable and uncountable, plural downspins)

Any type of movement that goes downwards in a spiraling motion.
- (She climbs in the cockpit. The plane engine starts to make a definite downspin noise, as in the beginning of the play. On instinct, AE tries one last time to reach the ship. She picks up the radio:)1937, Laura Annawyn Shamas, Amelia Lives, A One-Act Play, The Dramatic Publishing Company, page 43
- The roundhouse. This serve is spectacular but is being used less and less in competition. It is difficult to use with any accurate and reliable consistency, and its downspin makes its flight predictable.1970, Peck, Wilbur H, Volleyball, Collier Collier-Macmillan, page 29
(figuratively) a downward spiral.
- With not enough money to fix her car, and no job prospects, Lilli takes a downspin less flashy than Jamie’s, but just as painful.1988, Maio, Kathi, Feminist in the dark : reviewing the movies, Crossing Press, page 121
- What had Edith said to bring about his change of mood? Maggie wondered in resignation, recognising the downspin of the emotional yo-yo once again.1992, Spencer, Catherine, Dear Miss Jones, Mills & Boon, page 85

downspin (third-person singular simple present downspins, present participle downspinning, simple past and past participle downspun)

To go downwards in a spiraling motion.
- Down, forever down, with fatherlands! But if we are fallen, and our fall unique, and downspun with demolition1964, Palamas, Ksostses Will, Frederic, The twelve words of the gypsy, University of Nebraska Press, page 110
- The darkly comic, tragic story of London playwright Joe Orton (played by Gary Oldman of SID AND NANCY) and his husband Kenneth Halliwell (Alfred Molina) encompasses their hilarious, prickly beginnings as co-authors and jail-mates, downspinning into murder and suicide. Vanessa Redgrave appears as...1987, The New Fillmore Corporation, The New Fillmore, page 110

Whenever the economy is in a downspin, questions invariably arise about the negative impact of undocumented immigrants on the economy.2001, Hayes, Helene, U.S. immigration policy and the undocumented : ambivalent laws, furtive lives, Praeger, page 2:
He rode a parachute downspinning into a different world.1999, Leviant, Curt, Partita in Venice : a novel, Livingston Press at The University of West Alabama, page 134:

Noun
plural	downspins
alternative form	down-spin
Verb
third-person singular present	downspins
present participle	downspinning
past participle	downspun
past	downspun

From down- + spin.

What does downspin mean?: Downspin means any type of movement that goes downwards in a spiraling motion.
How do you use downspin in a sentence?: Whenever the economy is in a downspin, questions invariably arise about the negative impact of undocumented immigrants on the economy.
What part of speech is downspin?: Downspin can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of downspin?: The plural of downspin is downspins.

Adapted from Wiktionary: downspin (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “downspin.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/downspin. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.