I. ˈhwēl, esp before pause or consonant -ēəl; also ˈwē- noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English whel, wheel, whele, from Old English hweogol, hweohl, hwēol; akin to Old Frisian hwēl wheel, Middle Dutch wiel, Middle Low German wēl, Old Norse hvēl, hjōl wheel, Latin colere to cultivate, inhabit, Greek kyklos ring, circle, cycle, wheel, pelesthai to be, become, telos end, Old Slavic kolo wheel, Sanskrit cakra wheel, carati he moves, goes; basic meaning: to bend, turn
1.
a. : a circular frame of metal, wood, or other hard material that may be solid, partly solid, or spoked and that has a hub at the center for attachment to or suspension from an axle on which it may revolve and bear a load especially along the ground
b. : such a circular framework often with cogs or teeth on the rim used to transmit or modify force and motion in machinery or a mechanical contrivance
2. : a wheel designed for a specific purpose, a structure resembling a wheel, or a contrivance or apparatus having a wheel as its principal part: as
a. : a chiefly medieval instrument of torture resembling a cartwheel and designed for stretching, disjointing, or otherwise mutilating a victim
b. : potter's wheel
c. : spinning wheel
d. : steering wheel
e. : a screw propellar on a boat
f. : bicycle 1
g. : any of many revolving disks or drums (as a wheel of fortune, lottery wheel, or a roulette wheel) used as gambling paraphernalia
3.
a. : the imaginary wheel symbolizing fate or chance that personified fortune is said to turn
so much often depends on the turn of fortune's wheel
b. : a recurring course, development, or action : round , cycle
reach back through all those turns of the wheel of time — Marcia Davenport
the wheel of events is brought full circle in four farm seasons — Robert Hazel
by … World War II the wheel of history had made a full turn — R.M.Upton
4. : something resembling a wheel in shape or motion: as
a. : a usually symbolic circular design in ancient art having radii suggesting spokes
b. : cartwheel 1a
c. : a round flat cheese
a wheel of mild cheddar — Leslie Waller
d. : a circular design in needlework with radiating bars resembling a cartwheel or a spider's web
e. : one of the revolving concentric spheres to which the planets and fixed stars are attached in the Ptolemaic astronomical system
f. : a firework that rotates while burning — compare pinwheel
5. : a movement similar to that of a wheel: as
a. : a curving or circular movement
the dizzying wheel of the dance
the graceful wheel of the gulls over the harbor
b. : a rotation or turn usually about an axis or center ; specifically : a turning movement of troops or ships in line in which the units preserve alignment and relative positions as they change direction by pivoting on a unit at the end of the line or upon an imaginary point beyond it
eventually the great movement out of the beachhead would be by an enormous left wheel , bringing our front onto the line of the Seine — D.D.Eisenhower
6.
a. : a moving or essential part of something resembling a machine
the wheels of social progress have turned but slowly — Gilbert Parker
the wheels of government
making sure that the library wheels turn easily — H.M.Lydenberg
b.
(1) : a directing or controlling force or person
in this complex world there are wheels within driving forces without
a big financial wheel in her company … is serving as a dollar-a-year man in Washington — John McCarten
(2) : a political leader usually in a party organization
got a firm promise of financial help from several Tammany wheels — W.A.Swanberg
7. : the refrain or burden of a song — compare bob IV 4
8.
a. : a string or circuit of theaters or places of entertainment
lifted her from a burlesque wheel and made her a star — William Du Bois
Oklahoma City and Tulsa are on wrestling wheels and boxing circuits — American Guide Series: Oklahoma
b. : a sports league
treasurer of her league and tops the wheel in averages — Woman Bowler
[s]wheel.jpg[/s] [
wheel 1: 1 hub, 2 spoke, 3 felly, 4 tire
]
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English whelen, from whel, wheel, whele wheel, noun
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to move or turn like a wheel on or as if on an axis : revolve
always showing the same face to the earth, the moon does not wheel on its own center
b.
(1) : to become giddy
the head wheels in the sudden fast turns
(2) : sway , reel
an inebriate wheels down the street
2. : to turn about a pivot (as in marching) while maintaining a straight or unbroken front
the soldiers wheeled in platoons — Van Wyck Brooks
the battalion would have wheeled to the flank and cut off the Germans from … escape — Walter Bernstein
3.
a. : to turn and face toward a different direction often in sudden fashion
wheeled and entered the monastery — Gilbert Parker
wheeled round in his chair with his eyes wide upon her — E.T.Thurston
the commander wheeled about and walked briskly aft — L.C.Douglas
b. : to alter or reverse one's opinion or course of action
her mind will wheel around to the other extreme — Liam O'Flaherty
4. : to move or go in a circuit or spiral : circle
a flock of … pigeons wheels over the curving roofs — James Cameron
the sun wheeled over the sky — John Steinbeck
the earth will wheel around its orbit — Waldemar Kaempffert
the plane wheels off to the west
5. : to extend in a circle or curve
across valleys where young cotton wheeled slowly in fanlike rows — William Faulkner
the shadows wheel across the snow
6. : to drive or go on or as if on wheels or in a vehicle with wheels
she wheeled to the door — Nelson Algren
the hack wheeled more slowly as the driver puzzled out addresses — T.W.Duncan
climbs on his bicycle and wheels down the road
7. : to make with a wheel a series of small indentations along the upper edge of the heel of a shoe
transitive verb
1. : to cause to turn or revolve on or as if on an axis : rotate
reloaded and wheeled the cylinders to make certain they were turning free and fast — S.H.Holbrook
2.
a. : to convey or move on or as if on wheels or in a wheeled vehicle
she is carried down and wheeled everywhere — Arnold Bennett
an authentic hospital patient was wheeled in — R.M.Yoder
so much American writing on education is wheeled remorselessly out again and even embellished — Brand Blanshard
b. : to draw or push on wheels
wheeled his big guns into action — Current Biography
he was wheeling the bicycle which Dougal had ridden — John Buchan
c. : to drive or operate (a vehicle) often at high speed
wheeling trucks along cement highways with sleepy eyes — Julian Dana
taxicab drivers wheel their vehicles through the streets with gay abandon — Geographical School Bulletin
was wheeling a passenger train towards Knoxville — H.G.Monroe
3. : to cause (a rank or body of troops) to turn on a pivot in uniform alignment
the officer wheels the company around the flank
4. : to make or perform in a circle, spiral, or curve
where the beetle wheels his droning flight — Thomas Gray
5. : to turn (a person or animal) in or toward a different direction
bewilderment wheeled her round — Michael Arlen
wheeled my horse and cantered off — Eve Langley
wheeled her horse about — Clara Morris
6.
a. : to dress (a skin) on a wheel : fluff
b. : pinwheel
7. : to indent (the upper edge of the heel of a shoe) with a corrugated wheel
8. : to convey or transmit (electric power) through or over transmission lines
the refusal of the … company, which owns the power lines that run from the dam to their farms, to wheel government power — New Republic
Synonyms: see turn
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- wheel and deal