Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or having the shape of a helix; spiral.
  • adjective Having a shape approximating that of a helix.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to or having the form of a helix.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to, or in the form of, a helix; spiral

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective in the shape of a helix

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective in the shape of a coil

Etymologies

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Examples

  • This organelle is called the flagellum, made of a rotary motor and a thin helical filament that grows up to about 15 micron.

    A self-assembling nanomachine with fine switching capability 2005

  • "Bingen pencils" we would call the helical contrails in the sky.

    Gravity's Rainbow Pynchon, Thomas 1978

  • Pawson called the helical staircase "extraordinary" for its self-supporting structure.

    NYT > Home Page By PILAR VILADAS 2011

  • Below ground, crews attached large metal corkscrews called helical piles to tie the wall's foundation together.

    Long Beach Press Telegram Most Viewed 2010

  • Below ground, crews attached large metal corkscrews called helical piles to tie the wall's foundation together.

    Long Beach Press Telegram Most Viewed 2010

  • Below ground, crews attached large metal corkscrews called helical piles to tie the wall's foundation together.

    Daily Breeze Most Viewed 2010

  • At left are some of the main tools used in stabilizing a foundation, called helical piers.

    Island Packet: Home 2008

  • In other words, a dielectric material (insulative substance) that geometrically may be considered as a lens that is taken at its center point and pulled out into an elongated rod, cone, pyramid, etc., such as helical cones on the legs of some mites (Figure 1).

    Chapter 5 1990

  • The unique design characteristics of COX meters, such as helical rotors with a 2-3 millisecond response and a single-bearing low-friction design allowing the meter to be mechanically linear over a wider flow range, result in unprecedented flow measurement performance.

    WebWire | Recent Headlines 2010

  • The unique design characteristics of COX meters, such as helical rotors with a 2-3 millisecond response and a single-bearing low-friction design allowing the meter to be mechanically linear over a wider flow range, result in unprecedented flow measurement performance.

    WebWire | Recent Headlines 2010

Comments

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  • Funny - how you ever seen the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical "Cats?"

    This word made me immediately think of the song "Jellicle Cats," since it rhymes with it. At least I think that's the name of the song.

    Funny how our minds work with what we've fed them over the years for so long and what we have encountered in our individual lives.

    Jen

    January 5, 2007