driving wheel

American  

noun

1. Machinery. a main wheel that communicates motion to others.

2. Also called driver.  Railroads. one of the wheels of a locomotive that transmits the power of an engine or motor into tractive effort.

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driving wheel British  

noun

1. a wheel, esp a gear wheel, that causes other wheels to rotate

2. any wheel of a vehicle that transforms torque into a tractive force

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Etymology

Origin of driving wheel

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

driving wheel

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m so clumsy, I should be nowhere near the driving wheel of a vehicle or the on-button of a power tool.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 16, 2019

As this happens, throw your weight to the high side of the machine to keep the driving wheel in good contact with the bottom of the bog.

From Time Magazine Archive

Notice particularly the straight boiler, riveted frame, closely set truck wheels, feedwater pump driven by a pin on the crank of the driving wheel, and details of the dome cover.

From The 'Pioneer': Light Passenger Locomotive of 1851 United States Bulletin 240, Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, paper 42, 1964 by White, John H.

Within g is a spring to act as a cushion to the slide, and thus prevent saw breakage should a chip pass between the saw and its driving wheel.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua

For the next 20 years little was done, and then began the evolution of the high “ordinary” bicycle with a large driving wheel in front and a small trailing one behind.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various