propeller

[ pruh-pel-er ]
See synonyms for propeller on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a device having a revolving hub with radiating blades, for propelling an airplane, ship, etc.

  2. a person or thing that propels.

  1. the bladed rotor of a pump that drives the fluid axially.

  2. a wind-driven, usually three-bladed, device that provides mechanical energy, as for driving an electric alternator in wind plants.

Origin of propeller

1
First recorded in 1770–80; propel + -er1

Words Nearby propeller

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

How to use propeller in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for propeller

propeller

/ (prəˈpɛlə) /


noun
  1. a device having blades radiating from a central hub that is rotated to produce thrust to propel a ship, aircraft, etc

  2. a person or thing that propels

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

Scientific definitions for propeller

propeller

[ prə-pĕlər ]


  1. A device consisting of a set of two or more twisted, airfoil-shaped blades mounted around a shaft and spun to provide propulsion of a vehicle through water or air, or to cause fluid flow, as in a pump. The lift generated by the spinning blades provides the force that propels the vehicle or the fluid-the lift does not have to result in an actual upward force; its direction is simply parallel to the rotating shaft.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.