unspool

/ʌnˈspul/

Other forms: unspooled; unspooling; unspools

To unspool is to unwind something that's coiled around a cylinder. If your cat unspools your thread, it'll be impossible to get it all untangled and wound back up.

Anything that's wound around into a spool or coil, can be unspooled. You might unspool the garden hose to fill up a backyard kiddie pool, or unspool the enormous amount of spaghetti from your fork and start over. Figuratively, something that's gracefully or smoothly rolled out is also unspooled: "Grandma loves to unspool a real nail-biter of a story after dinner."

Definitions of unspool

1. verb

   reverse the winding or twisting of
   synonyms: unroll, unwind, wind off

   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
2. verb

   show or project a film
3. verb

   be shown on or as if on a motion-picture screen
4. verb

   (figurative) develop or reveal an event, narrative, situation, etc.