wheel
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wheel (hwēl, wēl)
noun
- a solid or partly solid disk, or a circular frame connected by spokes to a central hub, capable of turning on a central axis and used as to move vehicles or transmit power in machinery
- anything like a wheel in shape, movement, action, etc., as a fireworks device that revolves while burning
- a device or apparatus of which the principal element is a wheel or wheels; specif.,
- in the Middle Ages, an instrument of torture consisting of a circular frame on which the victim's limbs were painfully stretched
- a wheel with projecting handles for controlling the rudder of a ship
- paddle wheel, potter's wheel, spinning wheel, steering wheel, etc.
- any of various rotating disks used for gambling a roulette wheel
- ☆ Informal a bicycle
- ☆ Slang an automobile
- the moving, propelling, or controlling forces or agencies the wheels of progress
- a turning about; circular, rotating, or revolving movement; specif., a turning movement as of troops or ships in line, with one end of the line as the pivot; also, any pivoting movement like this, as of dancers
- ☆ Slang an important, influential, or authoritative person also big wheel
- Archaic the refrain of a song
Etymology: ME whele < OE hweol, earlier hweogol < IE *kwekwlo-, wheel (> Gr kyklos, a circle) < base *kwel-, to turn, be around, dwell > Gr telos, turning point, end, polos, axis, L colere, to till, dwell, Ger hals, neck
transitive verb
- to move or roll along (something equipped with wheels) to wheel a baby buggy
- to transport in a wheeled vehicle
- to cause to turn, revolve, or rotate
- to furnish with a wheel or wheels
intransitive verb
- to turn on or as on an axis; pivot, rotate, revolve, etc.
- to reverse one's course of action, movement, opinion, attitude, etc.: often with about
- to turn in a swooping, circular motion: said of birds
- to move or roll along on or as on wheels
at the wheel
or behind the wheel- steering a ship, motor vehicle, etc.
- in charge; directing activities
spin one's wheels
☆wheel and deal
☆wheel of fortune
- the wheel which the goddess of fortune was believed to rotate to bring about the alternations or reverses in human affairs
- the changes or vicissitudes of life
wheels within wheels
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Alternate definitions:
wheel
n.
A thin, circular body that turns on an axis
disk, ratchet, ring, hoop, roller, roulette, caster, drum, ferris wheel, wheel trolley, flywheel, cogwheel, steering wheel, sprocket, wheel, chain wheel, water wheel, noria, sakieh. A two-wheeled vehicle
Machinery; often used figuratively
motive power, dynamo, engine, apparatus, motor, engine, controlling force, instrumentality. *An important person
at the wheel
Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Object
- bin: From January 2003, second wheeled blue recycle bins will be issued in phases across the Boro.
Converse of object
- reinvent: The first bit of advice is don't reinvent the wheel.
Adjective modifier
- rear: Brakes are disk and work on the rear wheels.
Modifies a noun
- rim: The alloy wheel rim also features a tire bead rim.
Noun used with modifier
- steering: The large steering wheel feels out of place in such a sporty car.
Possessives
- potter: It was made on a potter's wheel, not a mold.
The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.
Souviens-toi que leTemps est un joueur avide Qui gagne sans tricher, a' tout coup! c'est la loi. Remember! Time, that tireless gambler, wins on every turn of the wheel: that is the law.
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because theyare few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low: Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and mournersgo about the streets: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Link to this page:
Cite this page:
MLA Style
"wheel." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/wheel>
APA Style
wheel. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/wheel

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