cartwheel

[kahrt-hweel, -weel]

noun

1. the wheel of a cart.

2. 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.

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

4. Slang.,  an amphetamine tablet.

verb (used without object)

1. to roll forward end over end.

   The skier took a sudden spill and cartwheeled down the slope.

cartwheel

/ ˈkɑːtˌwiːl /

noun

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

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

3. slang,  a large coin, esp the silver dollar

Other Word Forms

• cartwheeler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cartwheel¹

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

Example Sentences

My hands grab at Woo, but the aboatia cartwheels over my attacks.

Read more on Literature

She could multiply fractions, turn a cartwheel, and recite entire stanzas of “The Wreck of the Hesperus,” a marvelous poem about a shipwreck by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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Young boys turn cartwheels, women in vivid head-to-toe veils walk purposively past, and donkey carts ferrying water drums trot along dusty dirt roads.

Read more on BBC

As players led a brawny ape and a cartwheeling monkey through jungles, ancient ruins and snowscapes, they were treated to a musical smorgasbord of atmospheric tunes.

Read more on New York Times

Jones, meanwhile, smiled and high-fived fans as he entered to Jadakiss' 'The Champ is Here', before entering the octagon with his signature cartwheel.

Read more on BBC