noun
vortex
VAWR-tehks
noun
1
A spinning mass of air, water, or other matter that pulls things toward its centre, such as a whirlpool or whirlwind.
"Water spiraled down the drain in a tight little vortex."
"The tornado formed a violent vortex that tore through the fields."
2
A situation of intense, chaotic activity that seems to draw everything nearby into it.
"The scandal became a media vortex, sucking in one public figure after another."
"She felt trapped in a vortex of deadlines and meetings."
How to Use Vortex
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA whirling, sucking motion — literal (water, wind) or figurative (a chaotic situation you get pulled into).
Common pairings
a vortex of chaos
spiral into a vortex
swirling vortex
Word Forms
vortexed past tense, vortices plural, vortexes plural, vortexes singular
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Water spiraled down the drain in a tight little _____.
Etymology
Borrowed directly from Latin vortex, "whirl" — a doublet of the word vertex.