spinning wheel

American  

noun

• spinning wheels
  plural

1. a device formerly used for spinning wool, flax, etc., into yarn or thread, consisting essentially of a single spindle driven by a large wheel operated by hand or foot.

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spinning wheel British  

noun

1. a wheel-like machine for spinning at home, having one hand- or foot-operated spindle

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• spinning wheels
  plural

Etymology

Origin of spinning wheel

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spinning wheel

To get buy-in, he showed the leadership team a video of staffers working with the old technology, stuck staring at a spinning wheel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

A tweet about Tuesday’s announcement included a video showing a spinning wheel with a Tesla logo that could have been the rotor of a Tesla eVTOL, or quadcopter drone.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2025

As the potter works the spinning wheel, the friction between their hands and the soft clay helps them shape it into all kinds of forms and creations.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024

Originally devised as a TV version of popular game "Hangman", it revolves around a spinning wheel which determines the prizes to be won by solving word puzzles.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2023

I shouted to Opal, and sat down at the spinning wheel.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff