pinwheel

or pin wheel

[ pin-hweel, -weel ]

/ ˈpɪnˌʰwil, -ˌwil /

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noun

a child's toy consisting of a wheel or leaflike curls of paper or plastic loosely attached by a pin to a stick, designed to revolve when blown by or as by the wind.

Also called catherine wheel. a kind of firework supported on a pin which, when ignited, revolves rapidly and gives a dazzling display of light.

a wheel having pins at right angles to its rim for engaging the teeth of a gear.

verb (used without object)

to revolve rapidly like a pinwheel: Images of the past pinwheeled through his mind.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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Origin of pinwheel

First recorded in 1695–1705; pin + wheel

Words nearby pinwheel

Pintubi, pin tuck, Pinturicchio, pinup, pinwale, pinwheel, pinwheel escapement, pinwheeling, pinwork, pinworm, pin wrench

How to use pinwheel in a sentence

Rhubarb Roulade This powdered sugar-dusted pink-and-white pinwheel is a classically beautiful Gourmet dessert.
A Sweet Send-off for Gourmet|Cookstr.com|October 14, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Why, he began turning somersaults so fast that he looked just like a pinwheel going around, or an automobile tire whizzing along.
Uncle Wiggily's Adventures|Howard R. Garis
Persis went through the air like a pinwheel, and those who witnessed the affair gave up her and the horse for dead.
What Will People Say?|Rupert Hughes
A pinwheel had exploded, sending a shower of sparks in every direction.
Holiday Stories for Young People|Various

Just as they entered a pinwheel, lying flat, began to fizz, sending a shower of sparks across the other pieces.
The Rover Boys on Treasure Isle|Edward Stratemeyer (AKA Arthur M. Winfield)
If this is a gesture, all I can say is, it is a pinwheel; and yet Broun writes only about things he knows about.
When Winter Comes to Main Street|Grant Martin Overton

British Dictionary definitions for pinwheel

pinwheel

/ (ˈpɪnˌwiːl) /

noun

another name for Catherine wheel (def. 1)

a cogwheel whose teeth are formed by small pins projecting either axially or radially from the rim of the wheel

US and Canadian a toy consisting of plastic or paper vanes attached to a stick in such a manner that they revolve like the sails of a windmillAlso called (in Britain and certain other countries): windmill, whirligig

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