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paddle wheel

American  

noun

  1. a wheel for propelling a ship, having a number of paddles entering the water more or less perpendicularly.


paddle wheel British  

noun

  1. a large wheel fitted with paddles, turned by an engine to propel a vessel on the water

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of paddle wheel

First recorded in 1675–85

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.

See Examples For:

The gentle current, kicked up by a creaky paddle wheel, terrifies nobody.

From The New Yorker Oct. 29, 2019

Later, people on Malaske’s boat saw a duck boat passenger “hanging on for dear life” to the paddle wheel of the Belle, he said.

From Seattle Times Jul. 20, 2018

Cook was elected county judge in Jefferson County in 1961 and during his term purchased a paddle wheel boat at a bankruptcy sale.

From Washington Times Feb. 4, 2016

Anyone who didn’t feel sufficiently stuffed by what was being served in the dining room could eat in the open air at the River Grill, on a rear deck overlooking that paddle wheel.

From New York Times Jun. 1, 2012

Note the paddle wheel and smokestack in the middle of the ship, as well as the masts for sails at both the bow and stern.

From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly

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