From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhelixhe‧lix /ˈhiːlɪks/ noun (plural helices /-ləsiːz/) [countable] technicalAVHM a line that curves and rises around a central line SYN spiral → double helix
Examples from the Corpus
helix• The twisting of the chain into a helix is a large number of small twists by the individual amino acids.• A helix is any line in which the curvature and torsion measured anywhere and everywhere are in a constant proportion.• This is similar to the commonly observed phosphate-binding sites at helix termini in other proteins and, in particular, other repressor-operator complexes.• The eastbound helix coiled against the sky like a giant concrete snail.• Similar principles apply to helices: A right handed helix, moving forward, is anticlockwise and aggressive.• A right handed helix, moving away, is the departure of a friend.• These residues lie 25-30 away from Lys 69 and Arg73 in the recognition helix.• The spiral and its three dimensional expression, the helix, have a handedness that is intrinsic.Origin helix (1500-1600) Latin Greek 