noun
Other Word Forms
- axled adjective
- unaxled adjective
Etymology
Origin of axle
before 900; Middle English axel, Old English eaxl shoulder, crossbeam (in eaxle-gespann ); cognate with Old Frisian ax ( e ) le, Old Saxon ahsla, Old High German ahsala shoulder ( German Achsel ), Old Norse ǫxl, Latin āla (< derivative of *akslā )
Explanation
An axle is a rod around which a wheel moves or rotates. The front wheels of your car sit on an axle, turning around it as the car moves. Any kind of vehicle with wheels uses some kind of axle for those wheels to rotate on. Trucks, buses, and cars have axles, and so do lawnmowers and wagons and even bicycles. The original, Middle English word for axle was axle-tree, which came from a combination of the Old Norse word öxull and the Old English eax, both of which mean "axis," or "line around which a body rotates."
Vocabulary lists containing axle
Automobiles
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 1
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Force and Motion (Mechanics) - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Thailand axle shaft manufacturer has reduced costs via consolidation of production lines and system optimization, the analyst says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
The four-time champion spun off and crashed at Turn One on his first lap of the session when his rear axle locked, catching him by surprise.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
If the AWD detects a sustained loss of traction at the rear it can route up to 369 lb-ft to the front axle.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025
Ferrari started lifting the hood on its first fully electric vehicle at an event that highlighted a new electric axle, motor and battery pack set to be made in-house.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025
I lay panting like a wounded duck, quietly cursing as I inched the jack forward under an axle that I had to find by feel, since it was under water.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
