a rotary propelling device, as for a ship or airplane, consisting of a number of blades that radiate from a central hub and are so inclined to the plane of rotation as to tend to drive a helical path through the substance in which they rotate.
Origin
1830-40
Related forms
screw-propelled, adjective
Examples from the web for screw propeller
They were the first to be able to calculate accurately in advance a screw propeller's performance.
British Dictionary definitions for screw propeller
screw propeller
noun
1.
an early form of ship's propeller in which an Archimedes' screw is used to produce thrust by accelerating a flow of water