cartwheel

[kahrt-hweel, -weel]

noun

an acrobatic feat in which a person starts from a standing position, with arms extended, and wheels the body sideways, landing first on the hands and then on the feet and usually repeating this in a series.

Slang. any large coin, especially a U.S. silver dollar.

Slang. an amphetamine tablet.

verb (used without object)

to roll forward end over end: The skier took a sudden spill and cartwheeled down the slope.

Origin of cartwheel

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at cart, wheel

Related formscart·wheel·er, noun

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

Examples from the Web for cartwheel

Historical Examples of cartwheel

Say, you haven't got a cartwheel instead of this wrapping paper, have you?
Free Air
Sinclair Lewis
Here has been Cartwheel, your sweetheart; what will become of him?
The Recruiting Officer
George Farquhar
He gave a shriek and dodged back, and a cartwheel shaved him narrowly.
The War of the Worlds
H. G. Wells
I managed to inject some into the discussion and it was like grease to a cartwheel.
From the Bottom Up
Alexander Irvine
Serious accident; a cartwheel passes over The Widow's child.
Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Vol 2 (of 2)
Thomas Mitchell

British Dictionary definitions for cartwheel

cartwheel

noun

the wheel of a cart, usually having wooden spokes and metal tyres

an acrobatic movement in which the body makes a sideways revolution supported on the hands with arms and legs outstretched

US slang a large coin, esp the silver dollar

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 cartwheel

late 14c., "wheel of a cart," from cart (n.) + wheel (n.). Meaning "lateral somersault" is recorded from 1861; as a verb from 1907. Related: Cartwheeled; cartwheeling.