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windmill

[wind-mil]

Origin

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noun

any of various machines for grinding, pumping, etc., driven by the force of the wind acting upon a number of vanes or sails.

(loosely) a wind generator; wind plant.

Aeronautics. a small air turbine with blades, like those of an airplane propeller, exposed on a moving aircraft and driven by the air, used to operate gasoline pumps, radio apparatus, etc.

an imaginary opponent, wrong, etc. (in allusion to Cervantes' Don Quixote): to tilt at windmills.

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verb (used without object), verb (used with object)

Aeronautics. (of a propeller engine or turbojet engine) to rotate or cause to rotate solely under the force of a passing airstream.

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Windmill is always a great word to know.

So is pressure. Does it mean:

vibratory motion in system in which restoring force is proportional to displacement from equilibrium

force per unit area

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Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English; see wind¹, mill¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Windmill

Collins

World English Dictionary

windmill (ˈwɪndˌmɪl, ˈwɪnˌmɪl)

—n
1.	a machine for grinding or pumping driven by a set of adjustable vanes or sails that are caused to turn by the force of the wind
2.	the set of vanes or sails that drives such a mill
3.	(Brit) Also called: whirligig, US and Canadian name: pinwheel a toy consisting of plastic or paper vanes attached to a stick in such a manner that they revolve like the sails of a windmill
4.	an imaginary opponent or evil (esp in the phrase tilt atorfight windmills)
5.	Compare ram-air turbine a small air-driven propeller fitted to a light aircraft to drive auxiliary equipment
6.	an informal name for helicopter
7.	an informal name for propeller

—vb
8.	to move or cause to move like the arms of a windmill
9.	an informal name for accommodation bill
10.	(intr) (of an aircraft propeller, rotor of a turbine, etc) to rotate as a result of the force of a current of air rather than under power

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

windmill

c.1300, from wind (n.) + mill. Cf. Ger. Windmühle, Du. windmolen, Fr. moulin à vent (13c.). Verb meaning "to swing the arms wildly" is recorded from 1927.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

windmill

see tilt at windmills.