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wheel

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wheel

  [hweel, weel]
Use wheel in a Sentence
–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.
3. steering 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. Informal. 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, esp. 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. Informal. 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.
–verb (used without object)
19. 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 fol. by about or around): He wheeled about and faced his opponent squarely.
22. to change one's opinion or procedure (often fol. by about or around): He wheeled around and argued for the opposition.
23. to roll along on or as on wheels; travel along smoothly: The car wheeled along the highway.
24. British Military. to turn: Right wheel!
—Idioms
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:
bef. 900; (n.) ME whel(e), OE hwēol, hweohl; c. D wiel, ON hjōl; akin to Gk kýklos (see cycle ); (v.) ME, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
wheelless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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wheel   (hwēl, wēl)   
n.  

  1. A solid disk or a rigid circular ring connected by spokes to a hub, designed to turn around an axle passed through the center.

  2. Something resembling such a disk or ring in appearance or movement or having a wheel as its principal part or characteristic, as:

    1. The steering device on a vehicle.

    2. A potter's wheel.

    3. A water wheel.

    4. A spinning wheel.

    5. Games A device used in roulette and other games of chance.

    6. A firework that rotates while burning.

    7. Informal A bicycle.

    8. An instrument to which a victim was bound for torture during the Middle Ages.

  3. wheels Forces that provide energy, movement, or direction: the wheels of commerce.

  4. The act or process of turning; revolution or rotation.

  5. A military maneuver executed in order to change the direction of movement of a formation, as of troops or ships, in which the formation is maintained while the outer unit describes an arc and the inner or center unit remains stationary as a pivot.

  6. wheels Slang A motor vehicle or access thereto: Do you have wheels tonight?

  7. Slang A person with a great deal of power or influence: a wheel in state government.

v.   wheeled, wheel·ing, wheels

v.   tr.

  1. To roll, move, or transport on wheels or a wheel.

  2. To cause to turn around or as if around a central axis; revolve or rotate.

  3. To provide with wheels or a wheel.

v.   intr.

  1. To turn around or as if around a central axis; revolve or rotate.

  2. To roll or move on or as if on wheels or a wheel.

  3. To fly in a curving or circular course: A flock of gulls wheeled just above the dock.

  4. To turn or whirl around in place; pivot: "The boy wheeled and the fried eggs leaped from his tray" (Ivan Gold).

  5. To reverse one's opinion or practice: Don't be surprised if the boss wheels about on that idea.


[Middle English, from Old English hwēol; see kwel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
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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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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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 14c. The verb meaning "to turn like a wheel" is attested from c.1225; trans. sense attested from c.1374. 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

wheel
[slang "big wheel" for a powerful person] A person who has an active wheel bit. "We need to find a wheel to unwedge the hung tape drives." (See wedged).
[The Jargon File]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Bible Dictionary

Wheel

(Heb. galgal; rendered "wheel" in Ps. 83:13, and "a rolling thing" in Isa. 17:13; R.V. in both, "whirling dust"). This word has been supposed to mean the wild artichoke, which assumes the form of a globe, and in autumn breaks away from its roots, and is rolled about by the wind in some places in great numbers.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms & Phrases

wheel

In addition to the idioms beginning with wheel, also see asleep at the switch (wheel); at the wheel; big cheese (wheel); cog in the wheel; fifth wheel; grease (oil) the wheels; hell on wheels; put one's shoulder to the wheel; reinvent the wheel; set (wheels) in motion; spin one's wheels; squeaky wheel gets the grease.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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