wheel

[hweel, weel]

noun

a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery.

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.

steering wheel.

Nautical.

a circular frame with an axle connecting to the rudder of a ship, for steering: He took the wheel during the storm.
a paddle wheel.
a propeller.

Informal. a bicycle.

a round object, decoration, etc.: a wheel of cheese; a design of red wheels and blue squares.

an old instrument of torture in the form of a circular frame on which the victim was stretched until disjointed.

a circular firework that revolves rapidly while burning; pinwheel.

a rotating instrument that Fortune is represented as turning in order to bring about changes or reverses in human affairs.

wheels,

moving, propelling, or animating agencies: the wheels of commerce; the wheels of thought.
Slang.a personal means of transportation, especially a car.

a cycle, recurring action, or steady progression: the wheel of days and nights.

a wheeling or circular movement: the intricate wheels of the folk dances.

(formerly) a movement of troops, ships, etc., drawn up in line, as if turning on a pivot.

Informal. someone active and influential, as in business, politics, etc.; an important person: a big wheel.

verb (used with object)

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

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

to move, roll, or convey on wheels, casters, etc.: The servants wheel the tables out.

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

verb (used without object)

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

to move in a circular or curving course: pigeons wheeling above.

to turn so as to face in a different direction (often followed by about or around): He wheeled about and faced his opponent squarely.

to change one's opinion or procedure (often followed by about or around): He wheeled around and argued for the opposition.

to roll along on or as on wheels; travel along smoothly: The car wheeled along the highway.

British Military. to turn: Right wheel!

Idioms

at the wheel,

at the helm of a ship, the steering wheel of a motor vehicle, etc.
in command or control: Her ambition is to be at the wheel of a large corporation by the age of 40.

hell on wheels. hell(def 19).

spin one's wheels, Informal. to expend or waste effort to no avail: He spun his wheels on that project for two years.

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

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 of wheel

before 900; (noun) Middle English whel(e), Old English hwēol, hweohl; cognate with Dutch wiel, Old Norse hjōl; akin to Greek kýklos (see cycle); (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun

Related formswheel·less, adjectiveun·der·wheel, nounun·wheel, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for at the wheel

wheel

noun

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

anything like a wheel in shape or function

a device consisting of or resembling a wheel or having a wheel as its principal componenta steering wheel; a water wheel

the wheel 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

short for wheel of fortune, potter's wheel

the act of turning

a pivoting movement of troops, ships, etc

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

a set of short rhyming lines, usually four or five in number, forming the concluding part of a stanzaCompare bob 2 (def. 7)

the disc in which the ball is spun in roulette

US and Canadian an informal word for bicycle

archaic a refrain

informal, mainly US and Canadian a person of great influence (esp in the phrase big wheel)

at the wheel

driving or steering a vehicle or vessel
in charge

verb

(when intr sometimes foll by about or round) to turn or cause to turn on or as if on an axis

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

(tr) to perform with or in a circular movement

(tr) to provide with a wheel or wheels

(intr often foll by about) to change one's mind or opinion

wheel and deal informal to be a free agent, esp to advance one's own interests

Word Origin for wheel

Old English hweol, hweowol; related to Old Norse hvēl, Greek kuklos, Middle Low German wēl, Dutch wiel

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

Word Origin and History for at the wheel

wheel

"to turn like a wheel," early 13c., from wheel (n.); transitive sense attested from late 14c. Related: Wheeled; wheeling.

wheel

Old English hweol, hweogol, from Proto-Germanic *khwekhwlan, *khwegwlan (cf. Old Norse hvel, Old Swedish hiughl, Old Frisian hwel, Middle Dutch weel), from PIE *k(w)e-k(w)lo- "wheel, circle" (cf. Old Church Slavonic kolo "wheel"), a reduplicated form from root *k(w)el- "to go round" (see cycle (n.)).

The root wegh-, "to convey, especially by wheeled vehicle," is found in virtually every branch of Indo-European, including now Anatolian. The root, as well as other widely represented roots such as aks- and nobh-, attests to the presence of the wheel -- and vehicles using it -- at the time Proto-Indo-European was spoken. [Watkins, p. 96]

Figurative sense is early 14c. Slang wheels "a car" is recorded from 1959. Wheeler-dealer is from 1954, a rhyming elaboration of dealer; wheelie is from 1966.

Idioms and Phrases with at the wheel

at the wheel

In command, in control. For example, Ann hated being told what to do; she wanted to be at the wheel by herself. The analogy here is to the steering wheel of an automobile or other vehicle, or the helm of a vessel. For a synonym, see at the helm.

wheel

In addition to the idioms beginning with wheel

wheel and deal
wheels in motion
wheels within wheels

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