vortex

/ˈvɔɹtɛks/

vortex noun: a whirlwind, whirlpool, or similarly moving matter in the form of a spiral or column.

Noun

vortex (plural vortices or vortexes)

A whirlwind, whirlpool, or similarly moving matter in the form of a spiral or column.
- An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex. The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.2013 March, Frank Fish, George Lauder, “Not Just Going with the Flow”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, archived from the original on 01 May 2013, page 114
(figuratively) Anything that involves constant violent or chaotic activity around some centre.
- It’s hard to imagine that there is any major American clothing brand that does not have a store in the consumer vortex that is East Hampton; […]2004 August 30, Rebecca Mead, “Flip-Flop Emergency”, in The New Yorker, page 38
- Montreal in the summer is a vortex of decadent food, 24-ounce cocktails and carefree people. We reveled in it, danced, swam in fountains.2014 May 30, Will Butler, “The Mark of Cane”, in The New York Times Magazine
(figuratively) Anything that inevitably draws surrounding things into its current.
- In early youth, the living drama acted around me, drew my heart and soul into its vortex.1826, [Mary Shelley], chapter I, in The Last Man. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 17
(historical) A supposed collection of particles of very subtle matter, endowed with a rapid rotary motion around an axis which was also the axis of a sun or planet; part of a Cartesian theory accounting for the formation of the universe, and the movements of the bodies composing it.
- Novv ſhou'd it happen that any of theſe Sun-like Bodies in the Centers of the ſeveral Vortices ſhou'd be ſo incruſtated and vveaken'd, as to be carried about in the Vortex of the true Sun, if it vvere of leſs Solidity, or leſs capable of Motion than the Globules, tovvards the extremity of the Solar...1705, George Cheyne, “Of the Physical Laws, and the Uniform Appearances of Nature. Law III. Corollary V.”, in Philosophical Principles of Natural Religion: […], London: […] George Strahan […], →OCLC...
Any of numerous species of small Turbellaria belonging to Vortex and allied genera.
(collective) A group of vultures or buzzards.
- But when we reach the vortex of vultures, there he is.2002, Deborah Copaken, Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War, Random House Publishing Group, page 143
- a vortex of vultures converges from all directions to compete viciously at the carcass2014, Bernd Heinrich, Ravens in Winter, Simon & Schuster, page 44

Verb

vortex (third-person singular simple present vortexes, present participle vortexing, simple past and past participle vortexed)

To mix using a vortex mixer.

vortex meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

vortex in Hindi

भंवर

vortex in Tamil

உந்தி, சுழலை, சுழி, சுழல், சுழிப்பு, சுழலம் ஓடி

vortex in Marathi

भोर्टेक्स

vortex in Urdu

بگولا, بھنور, گرداب, مرغول

More languagesFewer languages

vortex in Bengali: ভোর্টেক্স, ভোর্টেক
vortex in Malayalam: ഭ്രമരകം, വർത്തരൂകം, നീർച്ചുഴി, വദാലം
vortex in Kannada: ನೀರಸುಳಿ, ಸುಳಿಗಾಳಿ, ಅಳಿಸಬಲ್ಲ ಅದಟು
vortex in Gujarati: વોર્ટેક્સ
vortex in Odia: ଭୋର୍ଟେକ୍ସ, ଭୋର୍ଟେକ୍ସ୍
vortex in Nepali: भोर्टेक्स

Examples of vortex in a sentence

On Pincushion, the slow vortex of vultures guides me back to earlier vultures circling a blown-out tire on Interstate 5 somewhere north of Eugene, Oregon.2019, Matt Rader, Visual Inspection, Harbour Publishing Company Limited:
Bobby looked up, and once again noticed a vortex of buzzards circling somewhere behind Pistol Creek Camp.2006, Charles Snellings, The Hidebehind, page 59:

All 30 example sentences with vortex

Forms of vortex

Noun
plural	vortices
plural	vortexes
Verb
third-person singular present	vortexes
present participle	vortexing
past participle	vortexed
past	vortexed

Plural of vortex: vortices or vortexes

Origin of vortex

Learned borrowing from Latin vortex. Doublet of vertex.

Phrases with vortex

3 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with vortex

cortex

Questions about vortex

What does vortex mean?: Vortex means a whirlwind, whirlpool, or similarly moving matter in the form of a spiral or column.
What is vortex in Hindi?: Vortex in Hindi is भंवर. See Vortex meaning in Hindi.
How do you use vortex in a sentence?: On Pincushion, the slow vortex of vultures guides me back to earlier vultures circling a blown-out tire on Interstate 5 somewhere north of Eugene, Oregon.
What part of speech is vortex?: Vortex can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce vortex?: Vortex is pronounced /ˈvɔɹtɛks/ (US).
What is the plural of vortex?: The plural of vortex is vortices.

Words near vortex in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: vortex (page history and authors); vortex (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); vortex (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); vortex (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); vortex (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); vortex (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); vortex (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); vortex (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); vortex (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); vortex (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); vortex (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-vortex.ogg, en-au-vortex.ogg.

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