Wheel Definition–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. |
| 4. | Nautical. | a. | a circular frame with an axle connecting to the rudder of a ship, for steering: He took the wheel during the storm. |
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| 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 turnin
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g in order to bring about changes or reverses in human affairs. |
| 10. | wheels, | a. | moving, propelling, or animating agencies: the wheels of commerce; the wheels of thought. |
| b. | Slang. a personal means of transportation, esp. a car. |
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| 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 fol. by about or around): He wheeled about and faced his opponent squarely. |
| 22. | to change one's opinion or procedure (often fol. 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, | a. | at the helm of a ship, the steering wheel of a motor vehicle, etc. |
| b. | in command or control: Her ambition is to be at the wheel of a large corporation by the age of 40. |
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| 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. |
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From Dictionary
Related topics from Britannicawheel
a circular frame of hard material that may be solid, partly solid, or spoked and that is capable of turning on an axle.paddle wheel
method of ship propulsion that was once widely employed but is now almost entirely superseded by the screw propeller. Early experiments with steam-driven paddles acting as oars led several ...
spinning wheel
early machine for turning fibre into thread or yarn, which was then woven into cloth on a loom. The spinning wheel was probably invented in India, though its origins are obscure. It reached Europe ...
wheel lock
device for igniting the powder in a firearm such as a musket. It was developed in about 1515. The wheel lock struck a spark to ignite powder on the pan of a musket. It did so by means of a holder ...
prayer wheel
in Tibetan Buddhism, a mechanical device the use of which is equivalent to the recitation of a mantra (sacred syllable or verse). The prayer wheel consists of a hollow metal cylinder, often ...
wheel and axle
basic machine component for amplifying force. In its earliest form it was probably used for raising weights or water buckets from wells. Its principle of operation is demonstrated by the large and ...
bob and wheel
in alliterative verse, a group of typically five rhymed lines following a section of unrhymed lines, often at the end of a strophe. The bob is the first line in the group and is shorter than the ...
rotifer
any of the approximately 2,000 species of microscopic invertebrates that constitute the class Rotifera, or Rotaria (phylum Aschelminthes). Rotifers are so named because the circular arrangement of ...
sakia
mechanical device used to raise water from wells or pits. A sakia consists of buckets fastened to a vertical wheel or to a rope belt about the wheel, which is itself attached by a shaft to a ...
trenching machine
excavation machine employing a wheel fitted with rim buckets, or with a boom or ladder on which an endless chain of buckets or scrapers revolves. The machine is self-propelled on rubber tires or ...
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