wheel

[hweel, weel] /ʰwil, wil/
noun
1.
a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery.
2.
any machine, apparatus, instrument, etc., shaped like this or having a circular frame, disk, or revolving drum as an essential feature:
a potter's wheel; roulette wheel; spinning wheel.
3.
steering wheel.
4.
Nautical.
  1. a circular frame with an axle connecting to the rudder of a ship, for steering:
    He took the wheel during the storm.
  2. a paddle wheel.
  3. a propeller.
5.
Informal. a bicycle.
6.
a round object, decoration, etc.:
a wheel of cheese; a design of red wheels and blue squares.
7.
an old instrument of torture in the form of a circular frame on which the victim was stretched until disjointed.
8.
a circular firework that revolves rapidly while burning; pinwheel.
9.
a rotating instrument that Fortune is represented as turning in order to bring about changes or reverses in human affairs.
10.
wheels.
  1. moving, propelling, or animating agencies:
    the wheels of commerce; the wheels of thought.
  2. Slang. a personal means of transportation, especially a car.
11.
a cycle, recurring action, or steady progression:
the wheel of days and nights.
12.
a wheeling or circular movement:
the intricate wheels of the folk dances.
13.
(formerly) a movement of troops, ships, etc., drawn up in line, as if turning on a pivot.
14.
Informal. someone active and influential, as in business, politics, etc.; an important person:
a big wheel.
verb (used with object)
15.
to cause to turn, rotate, or revolve, as on an axis.
16.
to perform (a movement) in a circular or curving direction.
17.
to move, roll, or convey on wheels, casters, etc.:
The servants wheel the tables out.
18.
to provide (a vehicle, machine, etc.) with wheels.
verb (used without object)
19.
to turn on or as on an axis or about a center; revolve, rotate, or pivot.
20.
to move in a circular or curving course:
pigeons wheeling above.
21.
to turn so as to face in a different direction (often followed by about or around):
He wheeled about and faced his opponent squarely.
22.
to change one's opinion or procedure (often followed by about or around):
He wheeled around and argued for the opposition.
23.
to roll along on or as on wheels; travel along smoothly:
The car wheeled along the highway.
24.
British Military. to turn:
Right wheel!
Idioms
25.
at the wheel,
  1. at the helm of a ship, the steering wheel of a motor vehicle, etc.
  2. in command or control:
    Her ambition is to be at the wheel of a large corporation by the age of 40.
26.
hell on wheels. hell (def 19).
27.
spin one's wheels, Informal. to expend or waste effort to no avail:
He spun his wheels on that project for two years.
28.
wheel and deal, Informal. to operate dynamically for one's own profit or benefit.
29.
wheels within wheels, an involved interaction of motives or agencies operating to produce the final result:
Government agencies are a study of wheels within wheels.
Origin
before 900; (noun) Middle English whel(e), Old English hwēol, hweohl; cognate with Dutch wiel, Old Norse hjōl; akin to Greek kýklos (see cycle); (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun
Related forms
wheelless, adjective
underwheel, noun
unwheel, verb (used with object)
Examples from the web for wheel
  • The wheel motors might allow a vehicle to almost literally turn on a dime, making parking much easier.
  • She refused to turn back, until forced to by a soldier who took over the wheel.
  • But if you aim it right and keep the flow steady, you should see the wheel turn, winding up the string and lifting the weight.
  • It's time for you rocket scientists to retire and give new brains with revolutionary ideas a turn at the wheel.
  • It is simply that, with the turn of the cultural wheel, it no longer matters.
  • Meanwhile, two emergency medical technicians wheel an injured patient on a gurney into the hallway of a packed waiting room.
  • It actually costs quite a lot to build a heavy wheel that spins fast enough to do much energy storage.
  • The perfect bicycle wheel needs to accomplish three things.
  • The company is exploring the use of fuel-cell technology in other small mobile devices such as wheel chairs and scooters.
  • The motor spins up the wheel with excess electricity from the grid.
British Dictionary definitions for wheel

wheel

/wiːl/
noun
1.
a solid disc, or a circular rim joined to a hub by radial or tangential spokes, that is mounted on a shaft about which it can turn, as in vehicles and machines
2.
anything like a wheel in shape or function
3.
a device consisting of or resembling a wheel or having a wheel as its principal component: a steering wheel, a water wheel
4.
the wheel, a medieval torture consisting of a wheel to which the victim was tied and then had his limbs struck and broken by an iron bar
5.
short for wheel of fortune, potter's wheel
6.
the act of turning
7.
a pivoting movement of troops, ships, etc
8.
a type of firework coiled to make it rotate when let off
9.
a set of short rhyming lines, usually four or five in number, forming the concluding part of a stanza Compare bob2 (sense 7)
10.
the disc in which the ball is spun in roulette
11.
(US & Canadian) an informal word for bicycle
12.
(archaic) a refrain
13.
(informal, mainly US & Canadian) a person of great influence (esp in the phrase big wheel)
14.
at the wheel
  1. driving or steering a vehicle or vessel
  2. in charge
verb
15.
when intr sometimes foll by about or round. to turn or cause to turn on or as if on an axis
16.
to move or cause to move on or as if on wheels; roll
17.
(transitive) to perform with or in a circular movement
18.
(transitive) to provide with a wheel or wheels
19.
(intransitive) often foll by about. to change one's mind or opinion
20.
(informal) wheel and deal, to be a free agent, esp to advance one's own interests
See also wheels
Derived Forms
wheel-less, adjective
Word Origin
Old English hweol, hweowol; related to Old Norse hvēl, Greek kuklos, Middle Low German wēl, Dutch wiel
Word Origin and History for wheel
n.

Old English hweol, hweogol, from Proto-Germanic *khwekhwlan, *khwegwlan (cf. Old Norse hvel, Old Swedish hiughl, Old Frisian hwel, Middle Dutch weel), from PIE *k(w)e-k(w)lo- "wheel, circle" (cf. Old Church Slavonic kolo "wheel"), a reduplicated form from root *k(w)el- "to go round" (see cycle (n.)).

The root wegh-, "to convey, especially by wheeled vehicle," is found in virtually every branch of Indo-European, including now Anatolian. The root, as well as other widely represented roots such as aks- and nobh-, attests to the presence of the wheel -- and vehicles using it -- at the time Proto-Indo-European was spoken. [Watkins, p. 96]
Figurative sense is early 14c. Slang wheels "a car" is recorded from 1959. Wheeler-dealer is from 1954, a rhyming elaboration of dealer; wheelie is from 1966.

v.

"to turn like a wheel," early 13c., from wheel (n.); transitive sense attested from late 14c. Related: Wheeled; wheeling.

Slang definitions & phrases for wheel

wheel

Related Terms

big wheel, invent the wheel, reinvent the wheel


wheel in Technology


[slang "big wheel" for a powerful person] A person who has an active wheel bit. "We need to find a wheel to unwedge the hung tape drives." (See wedged).
[Jargon File]

wheel in the Bible

(Heb. galgal; rendered "wheel" in Ps. 83:13, and "a rolling thing" in Isa. 17:13; R.V. in both, "whirling dust"). This word has been supposed to mean the wild artichoke, which assumes the form of a globe, and in autumn breaks away from its roots, and is rolled about by the wind in some places in great numbers.

Idioms and Phrases with wheel

wheel

In addition to the idioms beginning with wheel
wheel and deal
also see: