Wheel
[wiːl] or [wil]
Definition
(noun.) a simple machine consisting of a circular frame with spokes (or a solid disc) that can rotate on a shaft or axle (as in vehicles or other machines).
(noun.) a circular helm to control the rudder of a vessel.
(noun.) forces that provide energy and direction; 'the wheels of government began to turn'.
(verb.) move along on or as if on wheels or a wheeled vehicle; 'The President's convoy rolled past the crowds'.
(verb.) change directions as if revolving on a pivot; 'They wheeled their horses around and left'.
(verb.) wheel somebody or something.
Checker: Phelps--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A circular frame turning about an axis; a rotating disk, whether solid, or a frame composed of an outer rim, spokes or radii, and a central hub or nave, in which is inserted the axle, -- used for supporting and conveying vehicles, in machinery, and for various purposes; as, the wheel of a wagon, of a locomotive, of a mill, of a watch, etc.
(n.) Any instrument having the form of, or chiefly consisting of, a wheel.
(n.) A spinning wheel. See under Spinning.
(n.) An instrument of torture formerly used.
(n.) A circular frame having handles on the periphery, and an axle which is so connected with the tiller as to form a means of controlling the rudder for the purpose of steering.
(n.) A potter's wheel. See under Potter.
(n.) A firework which, while burning, is caused to revolve on an axis by the reaction of the escaping gases.
(n.) The burden or refrain of a song.
(n.) A bicycle or a tricycle; a velocipede.
(n.) A rolling or revolving body; anything of a circular form; a disk; an orb.
(n.) A turn revolution; rotation; compass.
(v. t.) To convey on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle; as, to wheel a load of hay or wood.
(v. t.) To put into a rotatory motion; to cause to turn or revolve; to cause to gyrate; to make or perform in a circle.
(v. i.) To turn on an axis, or as on an axis; to revolve; to more about; to rotate; to gyrate.
(v. i.) To change direction, as if revolving upon an axis or pivot; to turn; as, the troops wheeled to the right.
(v. i.) To go round in a circuit; to fetch a compass.
(v. i.) To roll forward.
Inputed by Chris
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. n. [1]. Revolve, rotate, turn, gyrate, roll, turn round, move round.[2]. Deviate, deflect, diverge, turn aside, alter one's course.
v. a. [1]. Whirl, twirl, spin, put into a rotatory motion.[2]. Move on wheels, convey on wheels.
Typist: Lottie
Definition
n. a circular frame turning on an axle: an old instrument of torture: a steering-wheel: (fig.) the course of events from the wheel one of the attributes of Fortune the emblem of mutability: (coll.) a bicycle or tricycle: circular motion: principle of life or motion: (Shak.) a refrain: (pl.) chariot: (slang) a dollar.—v.t. to cause to whirl: to convey on wheels: to turn.—v.i. to turn round or on an axis: to roll forward: to change direction: to move in a circle: to change about: (coll.) to ride a bicycle or tricycle.—ns. Wheel′-an′imal -animal′cule a rotifer; Wheel′-barrow a barrow supported on one wheel and two handles and driven forward by one man; Wheel′-boat a boat having wheels for use on water or on inclined planes; Wheel′-carr′iage any kind of carriage moved on wheels; Wheel′-chair a chair moving on wheels.—adj. Wheel′-cut cut or ground and polished on a wheel—of glass.—n. Wheel′-cut′ter a machine for cutting the teeth on watch and clock wheels.—p.adj. Wheeled having wheels.—ns. Wheel′er one who wheels: the horse nearest the wheels of a carriage: a maker of wheels; Wheel′-horse one of the horses next the wheels in a team; Wheel′-house a box or small house erected over the steering-wheel in ships: a paddle-box; Wheel′ing the act of moving or conveying on wheels: a turning or circular movement of troops; Wheel′-lock a lock for firing a gun by means of a small steel wheel; Wheel′man a steersman: a cyclist; Wheel′-plough a plough the depth of whose furrow is regulated by a wheel; Wheel′-race the part of a race in which the water-wheel is fixed; Wheel′-tax a tax on carriages; Wheel′-win′dow a circular window with radiating tracery; Wheel′-work a combination of wheels and their connection in machinery; Wheel′wright a wright who makes wheels and wheel-carriages.—adj. Wheel′y like a wheel.—Wheel and axle one of the mechanical powers in its primitive form a cylindrical axle on which a wheel concentric with the axle is firmly fastened the power being applied to the wheel and the weight attached to the axis; Wheel of life (see Zoetrope); Wheels within wheels a complication of circumstances.—Break a butterfly (fly &c.) upon the wheel to inflict a punishment out of all proportion to the offence: to employ great exertions for insignificant ends.
Checked by Elisha
Unserious Contents or Definition
To see swiftly rotating wheels in your dreams, foretells that you will be thrifty and energetic in your business and be successful in pursuits of domestic bliss. To see idle or broken wheels, proclaims death or absence of some one in your household.
Edited by Flo
Examples
- The most efficient form of water motor is the turbine, a strong metal wheel shaped somewhat like a pin wheel, inclosed in a heavy metal case. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The surplus water is best removed by centrifugal pumps, since sand and sticks which would clog the valves of an ordinary pump are passed along without difficulty by the rotating wheel. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- At the bottom of the penstock is placed a turbine wheel fixed on a shaft, and to which shaft is connected an electric generator or other power machine. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The whole value of the great wheel of circulation and distribution is added to the goods which are circulated and distributed by means of it. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- The boat had a single paddle wheel in the middle near the stern, and was intended only for canal use, in the place of horses. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The fly-wheel carries forward the work at the outset and the gearing the rest of the time. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- By turning the wheel any type can be brought to the front, and a stationary guide controls its descent as it makes the impression. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The large and powerful engines on the Great Western Railway have, however, only two driving wheels, which are 8 feet in diameter. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- The manifest advantage of an even track for the wheels long ago suggested the idea of laying down wood and other hard, smooth surfaces for carriages to run upon. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- But the wheels had hard tires, the roads and many of the streets were not smooth, the vehicle got the name of the bone-breaker and its use ceased. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- It is something which makes your body move, as the spring made the wheels go in my watch when I showed it to you. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- The current is transmitted to the electric motors, actuating each of the wheels of the power car and the trailers. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Mortimer, the gardener, who wheels the Bath chair, is an army pensioner--an old Crimean man of excellent character. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- It was a machine mounted on two wheels, that had a seed box in the bottom of which was a series of holes opening into a corresponding number of metal tubes or funnels. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Dr. Donaldson wheeled one to him, and placed him in it. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- He pretended to no gradual change of views; he wheeled about at once. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Horta wheeled to charge his enemy once more; a dozen steps he took, then he staggered and fell upon his side. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Gomez wheeled the motorcycle up to one of them. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- Like lightning he wheeled and before I could so much as lower my hand the point of his long-sword was at my breast. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- Don't wait here out o' compliment to me,' said Sam, as the groom wheeled in the barrow, and prepared to shut the gate. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- The true definition of the bicycle is a two-wheeled vehicle, with one wheel in front and the other in the rear, and both in the same vertical plane. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The noise of their motors filled all the high sky and looking up he saw their pursuit, minute and tiny, circling and wheeling high above them. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- And I assure you it wrenched the imagination to see tidy nursemaids wheeling perambulators and children playing diavolo on the very square where Bloody Sunday had gone into history. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Stop a minute, though, he said, wheeling round before we had gone many paces. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Logical inference, Miss Halcombe, continued the Count, wheeling round briskly, and addressing me. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Well, said Mrs. Hackbutt, wheeling adroitly, all I can say is, that I think she ought to separate from him. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- The shutters of the house were closed, and Christian Cantle, who had been wheeling manure about the garden all day, had gone home. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
Checked by Alden