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reeling

 - 6 dictionary results

reel

1  [reel]
Use reeling 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

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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To reeling
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·ing   (rē'lĭng)   
n.   Maine
Sustained noise, as from hammering: "Hark that reeling, now, you'll wake the baby!" (Anonymous).
In the granite quarries of Maine, stones for paving were once shaped by men using small hammers called reels. Crews of 30 men at a time would use these hammers. The resulting "shattering noise as the pieces of the granite were shaped... gave Mainers a word for any sustained hubbub—reelin'" (John Gould). Reeling can denote noise made by humans as well: She told the children to hush their reeling.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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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