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¹wheel

noun, often attributive \ˈhwēl, ˈwēl\

: one of the round parts underneath a car, wagon, etc., that rolls and allows something to move

: a hard, round object that turns and causes machinery or a mechanical device to move

: something that is round like a wheel or that turns like a wheel

Full Definition of WHEEL

: a circular frame of hard material that may be solid, partly solid, or spoked and that is capable of turning on an axle

: a contrivance or apparatus having as its principal part a wheel: as

a : a chiefly medieval instrument of torture designed for mutilating a victim (as by stretching or disjointing)

b : bicycle

c : any of many revolving disks or drums used as gambling paraphernalia

d : potter's wheel

e : steering wheel

a : an imaginary turning wheel symbolizing the inconstancy of fortune

b : a recurring course, development, or action : cycle

: something (as a round flat cheese) resembling a wheel in shape

a : a curving or circular movement

b : a rotation or turn usually about an axis or center; specifically : a turning movement of troops or ships in line in which the units preserve alignment and relative positions as they change direction

a : a moving or essential part of something compared to a machine <the wheels of government>

b : a directing or controlling force

c : a person of importance especially in an organization <a big wheel>

: the refrain or burden of a song

a : a circuit of theaters or places of entertainment

b : a sports league

plural slang : a wheeled vehicle; especially : automobile

plural slang : legs

— wheel·less \ˈhwēl-ləs, ˈwēl-\ adjective

See wheel defined for English-language learners

See wheel defined for kids

Illustration of WHEEL

Origin of WHEEL

Middle English, from Old English hweogol, hwēol; akin to Old Norse hvēl wheel, Greek kyklos circle, wheel, Sanskrit cakra, Latin colere to cultivate, inhabit, Sanskrit carati he moves, wanders

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to WHEEL

Synonyms: gyration, pirouette, reel, revolution, roll, rotation, twirl, spin, whirl

Antonyms: lightweight, nobody, nonentity, nothing, shrimp, twerp, whippersnapper, zero, zilch

Other Mechanical Engineering Terms

centrifuge, differential, flange, lathe, linchpin, pinion, plenum, ratchet, traction

Rhymes with WHEEL

ceil, chiel, creel, deal, deil, eel, feel, heal, heel, keel, Kiel, kneel, leal, meal, peal, peel, real, reel, seal, seel, shiel, speel, spiel, squeal, steal, steel, Steele, streel, teal, tuille, veal, weal, wheal, zeal

²wheel

verb

: to move (someone or something) on a vehicle that has wheels

: to push (something) that has wheels on it

: to turn quickly and face a different direction

Full Definition of WHEEL

intransitive verb

: to turn on or as if on an axis : revolve

: to change direction as if revolving on a pivot <the battalion would have wheeled to the flank — Walter Bernstein> <her mind will wheel around to the other extreme — Liam O'Flaherty> <wheeled to face her opponent>

: to move or extend in a circle or curve <birds in wheeling flight> <valleys where young cotton wheeled slowly in fanlike rows — William Faulkner>

: to travel on or as if on wheels or in a wheeled vehicle

transitive verb

: to cause to turn on or as if on an axis : rotate

: to convey or move on or as if on wheels or in a wheeled vehicle <wheeled the patient back to his room> <wheeled the car into the driveway> <wheel in the experts>

: to cause to change direction as if revolving on a pivot

: to make or perform in a circle or curve

— wheel and deal

: to make deals or do business especially shrewdly or briskly

See wheel defined for English-language learners