spindle
a rounded rod, usually of wood, tapering toward each end, used in hand-spinning to twist into thread the fibers drawn from the mass on the distaff, and on which the thread is wound as it is spun.
the rod on a spinning wheel by which the thread is twisted and on which it is wound.
one of the rods of a spinning machine that bear the bobbins on which the spun thread is wound.
any rod or pin suggestive of a spindle used in spinning, as one that turns around or on which something turns; an axle, axis, or shaft.
a vertical shaft that serves to center a phonograph record on a turntable.
either of two shafts or arbors that support the work on a lathe, one (live spindle ) on the headstock, rotating with and imparting motion to the work, the other (dead spindle ) on the tailstock, motionless.
a small axis, arbor, or mandrel.
an iron rod or the like, usually with a ball or cage at the top, fixed to a rock, sunken reef, etc., to serve as a guide in navigation.
a measure of yarn, containing, for cotton, 15,120 yards (13,825 meters), and for linen, 14,400 yards (13,267 meters).
a hydrometer.
Cell Biology. a spindle-shaped structure, composed of microtubules, that forms near the cell nucleus during mitosis or meiosis and, as it divides, draws the chromosomes to opposite poles of the cell.
a short, turned or circular ornament, as in a baluster or stair rail.
Eastern New England. a tassel on an ear of corn.
Chiefly New Jersey and Delaware Valley. dragonfly.
to give the form of a spindle to.
to provide or equip with a spindle or spindles.
to impale (a card or paper) on a spindle, as for sorting purposes.
to shoot up, or grow, into a long, slender stalk or stem, as a plant.
to grow tall and slender, often disproportionately so.
Origin of spindle
1regional variation note For spindle
Other words from spindle
- spin·dle·like, adjective
- mul·ti·spin·dled, adjective
Words Nearby spindle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use spindle in a sentence
Around that time, the muscle’s golgi tendon organs—spindles of neurons that sit on the muscle fibers—kick in and inhibit muscle contractions, allowing your muscles to relax and lengthening the stretching you can do.
Muscles contain special sensory receptor cells called muscle spindles.
The author, an art curator and educator who has developed curriculums on animals, speculates that hippo empathy may derive from their brains being well-stocked with spindle neurons, which are associated in many species with social emotions.
Eye-opening acts of empathy in the animal kingdom | Richard Schiffman | April 9, 2021 | Washington PostHyman became interested in understanding the formation of mitotic spindles during his graduate studies in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the University of Cambridge in the 1980s.
A Newfound Source of Cellular Order in the Chemistry of Life | Viviane Callier | January 7, 2021 | Quanta MagazineAlong the way, a succession of other rapacious characters flock to the spindle Gallery.
At the center of the action—and the guessing game of who inspired each character—is über-dealer Art spindle (Danny Huston).
No sooner had she picked up the spindle, than she pricked her hand with it, and fell swooning.
The Story Of The Duchess Of Cicogne And Of Monsieur De Boulingrin | Anatole FranceBehind the bride were carried the distaff and spindle, emblems of domestic life.
The Private Life of the Romans | Harold Whetstone JohnstonA very convenient method of keeping shipping tags at hand is to slip them on a desk spindle.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | VariousIn the thick shade of a fig-tree, by a running spring, sat a blind woman unrolling the last gold and silver thread from a spindle.
Laboulaye's Fairy Book | VariousHe lifted a spindle-legged table in the air and went on talking.
Patchwork | Anna Balmer Myers
British Dictionary definitions for spindle
/ (ˈspɪndəl) /
a rod or stick that has a notch in the top, used to draw out natural fibres for spinning into thread, and a long narrow body around which the thread is wound when spun
one of the thin rods or pins bearing bobbins upon which spun thread is wound in a spinning wheel or machine
any of various parts in the form of a rod, esp a rotating rod that acts as an axle, mandrel, or arbor
a piece of wood that has been turned, such as a baluster or table leg
a small square metal shaft that passes through the lock of a door and to which the door knobs or handles are fixed
a measure of length of yarn equal to 18 hanks (15 120 yards) for cotton or 14 400 yards for linen
biology a spindle-shaped structure formed by microtubules during mitosis or meiosis which draws the duplicated chromosomes apart as the cell divides
a less common name for a hydrometer
a tall pole with a marker at the top, fixed to an underwater obstruction as an aid to navigation
a device consisting of a sharp upright spike on a pedestal on which bills, order forms, etc, are impaled
short for spindle tree
(tr) to form into a spindle or equip with spindles
(intr) rare (of a plant, stem, shoot, etc) to grow rapidly and become elongated and thin
Origin of spindle
1Collins 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 spindle
[ spĭn′dl ]
A network of protein fibers that forms in the cytoplasm of a cell during cell division. The spindle grows forth from the centrosomes and attaches to the chromosomes after the latter have been duplicated, and the nuclear membrane dissolves. Once attached, the spindle fibers contract, pulling the duplicate chromosomes apart to opposite poles of the dividing cell. See more at meiosis mitosis.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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