I. reel 1 /riːl/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
1 . to be confused or shocked by a situation:
Norman’s brain was reeling, but he did his best to appear calm.
reel from
The party is still reeling from its recent election defeat.
2 . ( also reel back ) to step backwards suddenly and almost fall over, especially after being hit or getting a shock:
Diane reeled back in amazement.
The force of the punch sent him reeling against the wall.
3 . [always + adverb/preposition] to walk in an unsteady way and almost fall over, as if you are drunk:
Andy reeled away from the bar and knocked over his stool.
4 . to seem to go around and around:
The room reeled before my eyes and I fainted.
reel somebody/something ↔ in phrasal verb
1 . to wind the reel on a fishing rod so that a fish caught on the line comes towards you:
It took almost an hour to reel the fish in.
2 . to get or attract a large number of people or things SYN pull in :
The programme reels in more than 13 million viewers a show.
reel something ↔ off phrasal verb
1 . to repeat a lot of information quickly and easily:
Jack reeled off a list of names.
2 . informal to do something again and again:
The Yankees reeled off 14 straight wins.
II. reel 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hreol ]
1 .
a) a round object onto which film, wire, a special string for fishing etc can be wound:
a cotton reel
a fishing rod and reel
b) the amount that one of these objects will hold:
a reel of film
2 . one of the parts of a cinema film that is contained on a reel:
the final reel
3 . a quick ↑ folk dance, especially one from Scotland or Ireland, or the music for this