wheel lock


noun
  1. an old type of gunlock in which sparks are produced by the friction of a small steel wheel against a piece of iron pyrites.

  2. a gun having such a gunlock.

Origin of wheel lock

1
First recorded in 1660–70

Words Nearby wheel lock

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wheel lock in a sentence

  • The wheel-lock was rarely used for infantry arms, but was of necessity employed by cavalry, where the match was inconvenient.

    Armour in England | J. Starkie Gardner

British Dictionary definitions for wheel lock

wheel lock

noun
  1. a gunlock formerly in use in which the firing mechanism was activated by sparks produced by friction between a small steel wheel and a flint

  2. a gun having such a lock

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012