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reel

 - 10 dictionary results
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reel

1  [reel]
Use reel in a Sentence
–noun
1. a cylinder, frame, or other device that turns on an axis and is used to wind up or pay out something.
2. a rotatory device attached to a fishing rod at the butt, for winding up or letting out the line.
3. Photography.
a. a spool on which film, esp. motion-picture film, is wound.
b. a roll of motion-picture film.
c. a holder for roll film in a developing tank.
4. a quantity of something wound on a reel.
5. Chiefly British. a spool of sewing thread; a roller or bobbin of sewing thread.
–verb (used with object)
6. to wind on a reel, as thread, yarn, etc.
7. to unwind (silk filaments) from a cocoon.
8. to pull or draw by winding a line on a reel: to reel a fish in.
—Verb phrase
9. reel off, to say, write, or produce quickly and easily: The old sailor reeled off one story after another.
—Idiom
10. off the reel,
a. without pause; continuously.
b. without delay or hesitation; immediately.
Also, right off the reel.
Origin:
bef. 1050; (n.) ME rele, OE hrēol; c. ON hræll weaver's rod; (v.) ME relen, deriv. of rele

Related forms:
reel⋅a⋅ble, adjective
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reel

2  [reel]
–verb (used without object)
1. to sway or rock under a blow, shock, etc.: The boxer reeled and fell.
2. to waver or fall back: The troops reeled and then ran.
3. to sway about in standing or walking, as from dizziness, intoxication, etc.; stagger.
4. to turn round and round; whirl.
5. to have a sensation of whirling: His brain reeled.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cause to reel.
–noun
7. an act of reeling; a reeling or staggering movement.
Origin:
1300–50; ME relen, appar. deriv. of rele reel 1

Synonyms:
3. See stagger.

reel

3  [reel]
–noun
1. a lively Scottish dance.
2. Virginia reel.
3. music for either of these dances.
Origin:
1575–85; special use of reel 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To reel
reel 1   (rēl)   
n.  

  1. A device, such as a cylinder, spool, or frame, that turns on an axis and is used for winding and storing rope, tape, film, or other flexible materials.

  2. A cylindrical device attached to a fishing rod to let out or wind up the line.

  3. The quantity of wire, film, or other material wound on one reel.

  4. A set of curved lawn-mower blades that rotate around a bar parallel to the ground, cutting grass while moving against a stationary straight blade.

tr.v.   reeled, reel·ing, reels

  1. To wind on or let out from a reel.

  2. To recover by winding on a reel: reel in a large fish.

Phrasal Verb(s):
reel offTo recite fluently and usually at length: reeled off a long list of names and dates.

[Middle English, from Old English hrēol.]
reel'a·ble adj.
reel 2   (rēl)   
v.   reeled, reel·ing, reels

v.   intr.

  1. To be thrown off balance or fall back: reeled from the sharp blow.

  2. To stagger, lurch, or sway, as from drunkenness: reeled down the alley.

  3. To go round and round in a whirling motion: gulls reeling and diving.

  4. To feel dizzy: My head reeled with the facts and figures.

v.   tr.
To cause to reel.
n.  

  1. A staggering, swaying, or whirling movement.

    1. A moderately fast dance of Scottish origin.

    2. The Virginia reel.

    3. The music for one of these dances.


[Middle English relen, to whirl about, probably from reel, spool; see reel1.]
reel'er n.
reel 3   (rēl)   
n.   Maine
A hand-held hammer used in a quarry for shaping granite blocks. See Regional Note at reeling.

[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

reel  (n.1)
"frame turning on an axis," late O.E. hreol "reel for winding thread," from P.Gmc. *khrekhulaz; probably related to hrægel "garment," and O.N. hræll "spindle." Specifically of the fishing rod attachment from 1726; of a film projector apparatus from 1896. The verb meaning "to wind on a reel" is recorded from 1393, from the noun. To reel off "rattle off without pause or effort" is from 1837. Reel-to-reel type of tape deck is attested from 1961.

reel  (n.2)
"lively Highland dance," 1585, probably a special use of the verb sense of reel (n.1). Applied to the music for such a dance from 1591.

reel  (v.)
"to whirl around," c.1300, probably from reel (n.1), on notion of "spinning." Of the mind, from 1796.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

reel

in motion pictures, a light circular frame with radial arms and a central axis, originally designed to hold approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) of 35-millimetre motion-picture film. In the early days of motion pictures, each reel ran about 10 minutes, and the length of a picture was indicated by the number of its reels. A film was a "one-reeler," a "two-reeler," or longer.

Learn more about reel with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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