axle

American  

[ak-suhl] / ˈæk səl /

noun

1. Machinery. the pin, bar, shaft, or the like, on which or by means of which a wheel or pair of wheels rotates.

2. the spindle at either end of an axletree.

3. an axletree.

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axle British  

/ ˈæksəl /

noun

1. a bar or shaft on which a wheel, pair of wheels, or other rotating member revolves

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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 )

Example Sentences

Norris was not at one with the car, was finding it difficult to feel the front axle when he was trying to take it to the limit in qualifying.

From BBC

Developments over the winter had made the new car faster, but introduced what the drivers called a "numbness" to the front axle, which was preventing Norris' ability to exploit the car.

From BBC

But we had a million pieces: bolts, screws, wheels, axles, brakes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Then I drilled a hole in the middle of the two big circles and put a little post in there, like the axle of a wheel.

From Literature

“We are continuing to get the company into a state of constantly stepping up into the scale we are at, so I don’t want to get wrapped around an IPO axle.”

From The Wall Street Journal