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paddle wheel

American

noun

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

paddle wheel British

noun

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

paddle-wheel adjective

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.

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

The lake’s water level is so low this year that a paddle wheel tour boat ran aground on a sandbar Aug. 4.

From Washington Times • Aug. 19, 2014

A native of Sweden, Mr. Ericsson moved to London and produced one innovation after another, including a screw propeller to replace the paddle wheel on the steam-powered warship.

From New York Times • Aug. 8, 2011

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023