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waterwheel

or wa·ter wheel

[waw-ter-hweel, -weel, wot-er-]
noun
  1. a wheel or turbine turned by the weight or momentum of water and used to operate machinery.
  2. a wheel with buckets for raising or drawing water, as a noria.
  3. the paddle wheel of a steamboat.
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Origin of waterwheel

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at water, wheel
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for waterwheel

Historical Examples of waterwheel

  • Ceramic pipes were made to carry water from the spring to a waterwheel.

    Space Prison

    Tom Godwin

  • My chief purpose in going to Java was to get a Javanese waterwheel.

    In Africa

    John T. McCutcheon

  • This waterwheel is designed to be placed in a flowing stream.

  • He recommended, incidentally, that a Boulton and Watt steam engine be used to pump water to supply the waterwheel.

  • The source of power, hidden by the curious “log cabin” at the right, was probably a waterwheel.