spiral
noun [ C ]
uk/ˈspaɪərəl/ usa situation in which prices, levels, rates, etc. go down, or in which a situation gets worse and is difficult to control because one bad event causes another:
a spiral of sth The world's two biggest economies are caught in a spiral of borrowing.
This year's downward spiral of house prices has depressed the market.
My former colleagues have been stuck in a spiral that continues to say, the only way we can continue our profit margins is to cut good journalism, and that is to me a death spiral.
spiral
verb [ I, usually + adv/prep ]
uk/ˈspaɪərəl/ usUK -ll- | US -l- (also spiral up/upward(s))
if costs, prices, etc. spiral, they increase quickly:
Costs spiral, and the patient is subjected to tests they don't need.
Inflation began to spiral upward.
spiral (from sth) to sth The country's foreign debt spiralled from $840 million to $2.6 billion.
spiral downwards
if costs, prices, etc. spiral downwards, they go down quickly:
Stock prices have spiralled downwards for the past two weeks.
spiral out of control
if a situation spirals out of control, it becomes impossible to control because one bad event causes another:
The project spiraled out of control, running $300 million over budget.
There is a great deal of evidence that internet gambling is spiralling rapidly out of control.
spiralling
(US spiraling)
spiralling fuel costs