wheel

American  

[hweel, weel] / ʰwil, wil /

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.

   1. a circular frame with an axle connecting to the rudder of a ship, for steering.

      He took the wheel during the storm.

   2. a paddle wheel.

   3. 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,

    1. moving, propelling, or animating agencies.

       the wheels of commerce; the wheels of thought.

    2. 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. Informal. someone active and influential, as in business, politics, etc.; an important person.

    a big wheel.

---

verb (used with object)

wheels, present (3rd person singular) wheeled, past participle, past wheeling present participle

1. to cause to turn, rotate, or revolve, as on an axis.

2. to perform (a movement) in a circular or curving direction.

3. to move, roll, or convey on wheels, casters, etc..

   The servants wheel the tables out.

4. to provide (a vehicle, machine, etc.) with wheels.

verb (used without object)

wheels, present (3rd person singular) wheeled, past participle, past wheeling present participle

1. to turn on or as on an axis or about a center; revolve, rotate, or pivot.

2. to move in a circular or curving course.

   pigeons wheeling above.

3. to turn so as to face in a different direction (often followed by about oraround ).

   He wheeled about and faced his opponent squarely.

4. to change one's opinion or procedure (often followed by about oraround ).

   He wheeled around and argued for the opposition.

5. to roll along on or as on wheels; travel along smoothly.

   The car wheeled along the highway.

6. British Military. to turn.

   Right wheel!

idioms

1. 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.

2. at the wheel,

   1. at the helm of a ship, the steering wheel of a motor vehicle, etc.

   2. in command or control.

      Her ambition is to be at the wheel of a large corporation by the age of 40.

3. hell on wheels. hell.

4. spin one's wheels, to expend or waste effort to no avail.

   He spun his wheels on that project for two years.

5. wheel and deal, to operate dynamically for one's own profit or benefit.

wheel British  

/ wiːl /

noun

1. a solid disc, or a circular rim joined to a hub by radial or tangential spokes, that is mounted on a shaft about which it can turn, as in vehicles and machines

2. anything like a wheel in shape or function

3. a device consisting of or resembling a wheel or having a wheel as its principal component

   a steering wheel

   a water wheel

4. a medieval torture consisting of a wheel to which the victim was tied and then had his limbs struck and broken by an iron bar

5. short for wheel of fortune potter's wheel

6. the act of turning

7. a pivoting movement of troops, ships, etc

8. a type of firework coiled to make it rotate when let off

9. a set of short rhyming lines, usually four or five in number, forming the concluding part of a stanza Compare bob 2

10. the disc in which the ball is spun in roulette

11. an informal word for bicycle

12. archaic a refrain

13. informal a person of great influence (esp in the phrase big wheel )

14. 1. driving or steering a vehicle or vessel

    2. in charge

---

verb

1. to turn or cause to turn on or as if on an axis

2. to move or cause to move on or as if on wheels; roll

3. (tr) to perform with or in a circular movement

4. (tr) to provide with a wheel or wheels

5. to change one's mind or opinion

6. informal to be a free agent, esp to advance one's own interests

wheel More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing wheel

• 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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underwheel
  noun
• wheelless
  adjective
• unwheel
  verb (used with object)
• wheel-less
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has wheeled
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have wheeled
  perfect
• are wheeling
  progressive
• have been wheeling
  perfect progressive
• is wheeling
  progressive 3rd person singular
• am wheeling
  progressive 1st person singular
• has been wheeling
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• wheeling
  participle
• wheels
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had wheeled
  perfect
• had been wheeling
  perfect progressive
• was wheeling
  progressive singular
• were wheeling
  progressive plural
• wheeled
  simple
• wheeled
  participle

Future

• will wheel
  simple
• will have wheeled
  perfect
• will be wheeling
  progressive
• will have been wheeling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of wheel

First recorded before 900; (for the noun) Middle English whel(e), Old English hwēol, hweohl; cognate with Dutch wiel, Old Norse hjōl; akin to Greek kýklos, Persian charkh, Sanskrit cakra-; verb derivative of the noun

Example Sentences

The retail ‘ants’ at the wheel are driving dangerously.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

It looks like any other truck, but there is no one at the wheel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Customers will have to wait a little longer for fully driverless taxi rides, however, as Wayve plans to launch the vehicles with an operator behind the wheel.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

“Herding cats,” said George Kulakowski of Huntington Beach, at the wheel of a 1931 Ford Model A Panel Delivery truck.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026

I can make out barely a silhouette, but the man in the driving seat raises a hand off the steering wheel in greeting and Eliza waves back affectionately in return.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• pivot
• spin
• trundle
• twirl
• whirl