axle

American  

[ak-suhl] / ˈæk səl /

noun

• axles
  plural

1. Machinery. the pin, bar, shaft, or the like, on which or by means of which a wheel or pair of wheels rotates.

2. the spindle at either end of an axletree.

3. an axletree.

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axle British  

/ ˈæksəl /

noun

1. a bar or shaft on which a wheel, pair of wheels, or other rotating member revolves

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• axled
  adjective
• unaxled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• axles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of axle

before 900; Middle English axel, Old English eaxl shoulder, crossbeam (in eaxle-gespann ); cognate with Old Frisian ax ( e ) le, Old Saxon ahsla, Old High German ahsala shoulder ( German Achsel ), Old Norse ǫxl, Latin āla (< derivative of *akslā )

Explanation

An axle is a rod around which a wheel moves or rotates. The front wheels of your car sit on an axle, turning around it as the car moves. Any kind of vehicle with wheels uses some kind of axle for those wheels to rotate on. Trucks, buses, and cars have axles, and so do lawnmowers and wagons and even bicycles. The original, Middle English word for axle was axle-tree, which came from a combination of the Old Norse word öxull and the Old English eax, both of which mean "axis," or "line around which a body rotates."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

axle axles

The plant also makes axle tubes that ultimately end up in light-duty Silverados and Sierras.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

Foiling the visual expectations of a lifetime, the four-door’s glass roof joins the car’s sloping rear deck just over the rear axle, omitting a transparent panel of any kind.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026

In order to achieve this salutary ratio, the engineers located the eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission at the rear axle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

Hence the decision to go for a nominal 50-50 split between electric and internal combustion power and an engine with no MGU-H and a much more powerful MGU-K, recovering from the rear axle only.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026

The axle of his empty wagon complained, as it did when there was no weight to quiet it.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Elsewhere, nearly 1,000 workers at American Axle’s plant in Three Rivers, Mich., walked off the job this month, stalling production of axles for General Motors’ bestselling pickup trucks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

Unionized workers at Dauch Corp. in Three Rivers, Mich., went on strike, halting the supply of axles for General Motors’ pickup trucks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

The Opel Blitz was stuck fast in the deep gravel bed, almost up to its axles.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026

But we had a million pieces: bolts, screws, wheels, axles, brakes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 7, 2025

Tom had the wheels off the buckboard and was buttering the axles with yellow axle grease.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck