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noun
1.
a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery.
2.
any machine, apparatus, instrument, etc., shaped like this or having a circular frame, disk, or revolving drum as an essential feature: a potter's wheel; roulette wheel; spinning wheel.
4.
Nautical.
a.
a circular frame with an axle connecting to the rudder of a ship, for steering: He took the wheel during the storm.
b.
a paddle wheel.
c.
a propeller.
5.
EXPANDInformal. a bicycle.
6.
a round object, decoration, etc.: a wheel of cheese; a design of red wheels and blue squares.
7.
an old instrument of torture in the form of a circular frame on which the victim was stretched until disjointed.
8.
a circular firework that revolves rapidly while burning; pinwheel.
9.
a rotating instrument that Fortune is represented as turning in order to bring about changes or reverses in human affairs.
10.
wheels,
a.
moving, propelling, or animating agencies: the wheels of commerce; the wheels of thought.
b.
Slang. a personal means of transportation, especially a car.
11.
a cycle, recurring action, or steady progression: the wheel of days and nights.
12.
a wheeling or circular movement: the intricate wheels of the folk dances.
13.
(formerly) a movement of troops, ships, etc., drawn up in line, as if turning on a pivot.
14.
COLLAPSEInformal. someone active and influential, as in business, politics, etc.; an important person: a big wheel.
verb (used with object)
15.
to cause to turn, rotate, or revolve, as on an axis.
16.
to perform (a movement) in a circular or curving direction.
17.
to move, roll, or convey on wheels, casters, etc.: The servants wheel the tables out.
18.
to provide (a vehicle, machine, etc.) with wheels.
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Spin one's wheels
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
verb (used without object)
Idioms19.
to turn on or as on an axis or about a center; revolve, rotate, or pivot.
20.
to move in a circular or curving course: pigeons wheeling above.
21.
to turn so as to face in a different direction (often followed by about or around): He wheeled about and faced his opponent squarely.
22.
to change one's opinion or procedure (often followed by about or around): He wheeled around and argued for the opposition.
23.
EXPANDto roll along on or as on wheels; travel along smoothly: The car wheeled along the highway.
24.
COLLAPSEBritish Military. to turn: Right wheel!
25.
at the wheel,
a.
at the helm of a ship, the steering wheel of a motor vehicle, etc.
b.
in command or control: Her ambition is to be at the wheel of a large corporation by the age of 40.
26.
hell on wheels. hell (def. 19).
27.
spin one's wheels, Informal. to expend or waste effort to no avail: He spun his wheels on that project for two years.
28.
wheel and deal, Informal. to operate dynamically for one's own profit or benefit.
29.
wheels within wheels, an involved interaction of motives or agencies operating to produce the final result: Government agencies are a study of wheels within wheels.
Origin:
before 900; (noun) Middle English whel(e), Old English hwēol, hweohl; cognate with Dutch wiel, Old Norse hjōl; akin to Greek kýklos (see cycle); (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun
before 900; (noun) Middle English whel(e), Old English hwēol, hweohl; cognate with Dutch wiel, Old Norse hjōl; akin to Greek kýklos (see cycle); (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun
Related forms
wheel·less, adjective
un·der·wheel, noun
un·wheel, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To spin one's wheels
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
wheel
O.E. hweol, hweogol, from P.Gmc. *khwekhwlan, *khwegwlan (cf. O.N. hvel, O.Swed. hiughl, O.Fris. hwel, M.Du. weel), from PIE *k(w)e-k(w)lo- "wheel, circle" (cf. O.C.S. kolo "wheel"), a reduplicated form from base *k(w)el- "to go round" (see cycle). Figurative sense is early
EXPAND14c. The verb meaning "to turn like a wheel" is attested from early 13c.; trans. sense attested from late 14c. Slang wheels "a car" is recorded from 1959. Wheeler-dealer is from 1950s, a rhyming elaboration of dealer; wheelie is from 1966. Wheelchair first recorded c.1700.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
spin (one's) wheels definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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wheel definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
spin one's wheels
Expend effort with no result, as in We're just spinning our wheels here while management tries to make up its mind. This idiom, with its image of a vehicle in snow or sand that spins its wheels but cannot move, dates from the mid-1900s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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