waterwheel

or wa·ter wheel

[ waw-ter-hweel, -weel, wot-er- ]

/ ˈwɔ tərˌʰwil, -ˌwil, ˈwɒt ər- /

Save This Word!

noun

a wheel or turbine turned by the weight or momentum of water and used to operate machinery.

a wheel with buckets for raising or drawing water, as a noria.

the paddle wheel of a steamboat.

QUIZ

FIRE UP YOUR VOCAB FOR A "RED" SYNONYMS QUIZ

No fire engine reds here, only a fierce collection of vibrant words for the color red to test yourself on.

Question 1 of 7

What does "amaranth" mean?

a legendary stone of impenetrable hardness

an imaginary, undying flower

a mythical creature

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of waterwheel

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at water, wheel

Words nearby waterwheel

waterward, Water, water everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink, water wave, waterway, waterweed, waterwheel, water willow, water wings, water witch, water witching, waterworks

How to use waterwheel in a sentence

Ceramic pipes were made to carry water from the spring to a waterwheel.
Space Prison|Tom Godwin
They are as swift as a waterwheel, each of them past another, one of them to the King's room, the other to the fire.
The Harvard Classics, Volume 49, Epic and Saga|Various
The whole was moved by an overshot waterwheel placed at the Bellevue dock.
Scientific American, Volume 40, No. 13, March 29, 1879|Various
The little buckets on the waterwheel keep an almost endless stream flowing into the irrigation ditch.
Birdseye Views of Far Lands|James T. Nichols

The next morning the girl heard the noise of the waterwheel, and she opened the lattice and looked out of the window.
The Grey Fairy Book|Various

British Dictionary definitions for waterwheel

water wheel

noun

a simple water-driven turbine consisting of a wheel having vanes set axially across its rim, used to drive machinery

a wheel with buckets attached to its rim for raising water from a stream, pond, etc

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