unreel

American  

[uhn-reel] / ʌnˈril /

verb (used with object)

1. to unwind from or as if from a reel.

   to unreel some wire; to unreel a tangled skein.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become unreeled.

Other Word Forms

• unreelable
  adjective
• unreeler
  noun

Etymology

Origin of unreel

First recorded in 1560–70; un- ² + reel ¹

Example Sentences

But the parade was such a spectacle that the “many imps of office boys who, from a hundred windows, began to unreel the spools of tape that record the fateful messages of the ‘ticker.’

From New York Times • Jul. 9, 2015

Schmidlin had to unreel the print by hand to see whether he could identity anything.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2015

All of this was apparent in the first set's opening piece, Thelonious Monk's "Jackie-ing," its rhythmic twists and turns inspiring Green to unreel brilliantly sleek, fast-moving lines.

From Chicago Tribune • May 20, 2011

All three networks will unreel miles of movies, not only made-for-TV slickies but also an impressive array of recent hits from commercial theaters.

From Time Magazine Archive

And yet, more and more as the days went by, this old-time film would unreel itself before the eager eyes of Merton Gill.

From Merton of the Movies by Wilson, Harry Leon

Related Words

• loosen
• unfurl
• unravel