This is the 10300th most frequent Portuguese word.
espiral
"Spiral" - A curve that winds around a central point, progressively moving away or toward it.
Here, 'espiral' is used metaphorically to describe a continuous and worsening sequence of events.
O jogador saiu em uma espiral descendente após perder várias partidas consecutivas.
The player went into a downward spiral after losing several consecutive matches.
In this case, 'espiral' refers to a literal drawing, describing the shape created by curved lines that circle around increasingly.
Ela desenhou uma espiral no papel enquanto conversava ao telefone.
She drew a spiral on the paper while talking on the phone.
Here, 'espiral' refers to the structural shape of DNA, used scientifically to describe its physical form.