I. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
1. : a pointed spiral piece of metal having a handle and used for drawing corks from bottles
2.
a. : an imperfection in silk filament
b. : a defect in unevenly twisted yarns resembling the spiral of a corkscrew
II. adjective
: having the shape or taking the course of a corkscrew : spiral
a corkscrew curl
the corkscrew motion of the ship over the heavy swell
III.
transitive verb
1. : to cause to proceed in a spiral or winding course : wind
the road corkscrewed its way in and out of a gully — Ngaio Marsh
2. : to elicit (as information) with difficulty or by roundabout questioning
every word had to be corkscrewed out of him
3. : to twist into a spiral
corkscrew copper tubing
intransitive verb
: to move spirally or in a twisting or winding course
the plane corkscrewed down toward the earth
: take a winding or spiraling course
the road corkscrews up the steep valley